1) n. when the owner- ship of property has not been determined. E...

temporary cessation or suspension My feelings of home-sickness had returned with redoubled strength after being long in abeyance. — Boldrewood, Rolf

1520s, "state of expectation," from Anglo-French abeiance "suspension," also "expectation (especially in a lawsuit)," from Old French abeance "aspiration, powerful d [..]

n. A state of suspension or temporary inaction.

Definition The suspension of a title to real estate while lawful ownership is being determined.

[Middle French abeance expectation (of a title or claimant), from abaer to expect, from a-, prefix stressing result + baer to gape, aim at] 1 : a lapse in the succession of property during which ...

Suspension, temporary inactivity.

means temporary inactivity. In the finance world, the term generally refers to unknown ownership.  

Abeyance has the following meanings:

(n) temporary cessation or suspension

  A state of temporary abolition of function

Incomplete or undetermined state of affairs.

1) n. when the owner- ship of property has not been determined. Examples include title to real property in the estate of a person who has died and there is no obvious party to receive title or there a [..]

A state of temporary abolition of function. Origin: fr. O. Fr. (05 Mar 2000)

(legal) Expectancy; condition of ownership of real property being undetermined; lapse in succession of ownership of estate, or title.in abeyance * French: (vacance,f), (vacant) * German: (Schwebezus [..]