§ 9-13-97.Sale of property on claimants’ application; order; advertisement; disposition of proceeds

Sometimes neither side wants to hold the disputed property. The claimant cannot give the forthcoming bond under Code Section 9-13-94, and the plaintiff neglects or refuses to step in under Code Section 9-13-96. This section keeps the property from sitting indefinitely in the levying officer’s custody by converting the dispute from a fight over the goods themselves into a fight over the money they bring.

The claimant applies to the judge of the probate court for an order allowing the sale — notably, the probate judge acts here even though the underlying claim itself, once resolved, returns under Code Section 9-13-98 to whatever court the execution issued from, not to the probate court itself. Once that order is granted, the levying officer’s duty is to advertise the time and place of sale at not less than three public places, spread across different parts of the county, for 15 days immediately preceding the sale.

The sale itself is bound by a window: it must happen between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the appointed day. The money the sale brings in does not go to either party yet. It stays in the levying officer’s hands, subject to the court’s order once the claim reaches its final hearing — the underlying dispute over the property continues, just now as a dispute over the proceeds instead of the goods.