When a person dies testate or intestate, seised of real or personal property in this State, leaving no heir nor person entitled to the same, the selectboard members of the town where the deceased last resided, if an inhabitant of the State, or of the town in which estate lies, if the absent person resided out of the State, may file a petition, on behalf of the town, with the Probate Division of the Superior Court for a hearing in accordance with the Rules of Probate Procedure. (Amended 1959, No. 38, § 1, eff. March 12, 1959; 1985, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 34; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011.)