What happens to a property when someone dies without a will or identifiable heirs?

When a person dies without a will, known as dying intestate, and does not have any identifiable heirs, the property in question undergoes a legal process called escheat. Escheat is a common law doctrine that ensures that the property of a deceased individual reverts to the state rather than remaining in limbo. This serves to prevent property from becoming ownerless when there are no heirs to claim it.

During the escheat process, the state will take possession of the property after a thorough search for potential heirs has been completed. If no heirs can be identified, the state becomes the legal owner of the property, which the government may then use for public benefit or manage in other ways, such as reselling it or maintaining it.

In this context, the other options do not accurately represent what happens to such property. Selling at auction, donating to charity, or directly inheriting by the state are not the proper legal precedents in cases of escheat. Instead, escheat focuses specifically on the transfer of ownership to the state due to the absence of heirs, making it the most appropriate answer to the question.