SECTION 4. Duties

A public administrator shall, except as hereinafter provided, take out letters of administration and faithfully administer upon the estates of persons who die intestate within his county or elsewhere, leaving property in his county to be administered, if there is no known husband, widow or heir of such deceased living in the commonwealth at the time of filing the petition. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public administrator shall apply for letters of administration for an intestate estate or petition for administration with the will annexed of a testate estate when so designated by the division of medical assistance pursuant to subsection (e) of section thirty-two of chapter one hundred eighteen E. The state treasurer shall be made a party to a petition for administration by a public administrator, and shall be given due notice of all subsequent proceedings. He shall, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, administer estates and render accounts in the same manner as other administrators.