Section 248: Local Level to receive property under succession

1) If succession to the property of a person is opened and he or she has no heir or his or her heir declines to accept such succession, the property of the dead person remaining after deducting the costs incurred in the performance of his or her funeral and obsequies rites and even after payment of debts due to his or her creditors, shall be devolved on the Local Level.

2) If a person dies and has no heir but has property, a person who performs his or her obsequies or maintains his or her books and accounts shall immediately give a notice thereof to the Local Level.

3) If a notice is received pursuant to sub-section (2), the Local Level shall prepare an inventory of the properties of the deceased in the presence of at least two local persons and forward the inventory, accompanied by a copy of the memorandum (Muchulka) executed to that effect, to the concerned district level administrative office.

4) If a memorandum, along with the inventory of properties, is received pursuant to sub-section (3) and the address of the deceased is traced out, such an office shall send a notice in accordance with law to the heir of the deceased to appear to receive the property of the deceased within a period of three months.

5) If the heir does not accept the property pursuant to sub-section (1) or the heir of the deceased does not appear within the time-limit referred to in sub-section (4) or the address of such heir is not traced out, such an office shall publish a notice in a national newspaper, inviting his or her heir, if any, to appear to claim the property of the deceased, within a period of thirty five days.

6) If the heir of the deceased appears within the time-limit referred to in sub-section (5), the property that remains after deducting therefrom the expenses incurred in the performance of obsequies of the deceased or providing such expenses to the person having performed such obsequies, and ten percent of the property, shall be returned to the concerned heir.

7) If no heir of the deceased appears within the time-limit referred to in sub-section (5) or his or her address is not traced out, the property that remains after deducting therefrom the expenses incurred in the performance of obsequies of the deceased, which amount is to be provided to the person having performed such obsequies, shall devolve on the concerned Local Level.

8) The concerned heir or the office under sub-section (3) shall hand over the property receivable by the Local Level pursuant to sub-section (1) or (7) to the Local Level in accordance with law.

9) The Local Level shall use the property that it has received pursuant to this Section for public interest.