The department shall, upon the death of any resident, immediately take possession of all property of the deceased left at the institution, and deliver the property to the duly appointed and qualified representative of the deceased.

[S13, §2727-a72; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3352; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §218.65] 83 Acts, ch 96, §159, 160; 2000 Acts, ch 1112, §22; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §397