All public officials shall, within seventy-two (72) hours of knowledge of a death and upon verification of no legal next of kin or administrator of the decedent’s estate, inform the public administrator of and make available to him all property known to them belonging to a decedent who resided at the time of death in the county, which property is liable to loss, injury or waste, or which, by reason thereof, ought to be in the possession of the public administrator. The public administrator shall be responsible for determining if any heirs or a will exists in all cases where there are no known personal representatives.