If any person arrested on execution shall die while under arrest a new execution may issue against the deceased’s property in the same manner as if the deceased had never been arrested; but such new execution shall not be levied upon any real estate which the deceased shall have sold in good faith nor upon any real estate which shall have been sold under any other judgment against the deceased.
815.12.Execution; death of person arrested.
Ch. 815: Executions · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 815.12 allows a new execution against a deceased debtor’s property, as if the debtor had never been arrested, when someone arrested on an execution dies in custody, but shields real estate the debtor sold in good faith or that was already sold under another judgment.
Full Text of Section 815.12
Plain-English Summary
Section 815.12 covers what happens when a person arrested on an execution dies while under arrest. Death ends the possibility of continuing to hold the person, but it does not end the creditor’s remedy. A new execution may issue against the deceased’s property, handled in the same manner as if the deceased had never been arrested on execution at all.
The section then limits where that new execution can reach. It cannot be levied on real estate the deceased already sold in good faith, and it cannot be levied on real estate that was already sold to satisfy a different judgment against the deceased. Both carve-outs protect transactions and sales that happened independently of the execution that led to the arrest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to collection efforts if a person arrested on an execution dies while in custody?
Section 815.12 allows a new execution to issue against the deceased’s property, in the same manner as if the deceased had never been arrested.
Can the new execution reach real estate the deceased already sold?
Not if the sale was made in good faith. The section excludes real estate the deceased sold in good faith from the new execution.
What about real estate already sold to satisfy another judgment against the deceased?
That is also excluded. The new execution cannot be levied on real estate already sold under any other judgment against the deceased.
Does this section revive a personal-arrest remedy against the deceased?
No. Because the debtor has died, the new execution proceeds against property, in the same manner as if the deceased had never been arrested, rather than against the person.
Does the good-faith protection depend on how long before death the sale happened?
The text sets no timing limit on the good-faith sale protection; it protects real estate the deceased sold in good faith, without a separate deadline tied to how close the sale was to the debtor’s death.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 815.12; 1993 a. 486.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: wisconsin execution debtor dies in custodydeath of person arrested on execution wisconsinwis stat 815.12new execution after debtor death wisconsingood faith sale protected from execution wisconsin