A receiver may be appointed but before appointing a receiver the court or judge shall ascertain, if practicable, whether any other supplementary proceedings are pending against the judgment debtor, and if there be any, the plaintiff therein shall have notice to appear and shall have notice of all subsequent proceedings in relation to such receivership. There shall be but one receivership at any time.
816.04.Appointment of receiver.
Ch. 816: Remedies Supplementary to Execution · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 816.04 authorizes appointing a receiver in supplementary proceedings, but first requires checking whether other such proceedings are already pending against the same debtor, giving notice to any plaintiff in those other proceedings, and allowing only one receivership at a time.
Full Text of Section 816.04
Plain-English Summary
Once a debtor has been ordered to answer about property under section 816.03, the court may need someone to take control of that property. Section 816.04 authorizes appointing a receiver for that purpose. But before making the appointment, the court or judge must, if practicable, check whether any other supplementary proceedings are already pending against the same judgment debtor.
If other proceedings are pending, the plaintiff in those proceedings gets notice to appear, and notice of everything that happens afterward in relation to the receivership. The section closes with a firm limit: there can be only one receivership over a debtor’s property at any given time, which keeps multiple creditors from setting up competing receiverships over the same debtor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a court appoint a receiver over a Wisconsin judgment debtor’s property?
Yes. Section 816.04 authorizes the appointment of a receiver in connection with supplementary proceedings.
What must the court check before appointing a receiver?
Section 816.04 requires the court or judge to ascertain, if practicable, whether other supplementary proceedings are already pending against the same judgment debtor.
What happens if other supplementary proceedings are already pending?
Section 816.04 gives the plaintiff in those other proceedings notice to appear and notice of all subsequent proceedings related to the receivership.
Can two different creditors each get their own receiver appointed over the same debtor?
No. Section 816.04 limits the debtor to one receivership at any time.
What can the receiver do once appointed?
Section 816.08 addresses applying the debtor’s property toward the judgment and pursuing claims against people holding or owing the debtor’s property, which is the kind of work a receiver appointed under section 816.04 carries out.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 816.04.
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 receiver supplementary proceedingsappointing a receiver over judgment debtor wisconsinone receivership rule wisconsinreceiver debtor property wisconsin statute