72-15-102. When public administrator to take charge of estate. (1) A public administrator who is duly elected, commissioned, and qualified shall take charge of estates of persons dying within the administrator's county as follows:

(a) estates of decedents for which no administrators are appointed and that, in consequence of the lack of administration, are being wasted, uncared for, or lost;

(b) estates of decedents who have no known heirs;

(c) estates ordered into the administrator's hands by the court; and

(d) estates upon which letters of administration have been issued to the administrator by the court.

(2) However, it is unlawful for a public administrator of any county of the state of Montana to file a petition for the issuance to the public administrator as public administrator of letters of administration of the estate of any decedent until at least 30 days have elapsed from the day of the death of the decedent unless it is affirmatively shown and made to appear in and by the petition for letters of administration that there are no known heirs of the decedent or that all of the known heirs of the decedent reside outside of the state of Montana and that the estate of the decedent consists of property of a nature that it will be lost, wasted, or depreciated in value unless cared for and administered upon at once.