Persons claiming interests adverse to the plaintiff which interests the plaintiff wants affected by the judgment shall be named as defendants; other persons with interests in the described property may be named as defendants.
841.03.Defendants.
Ch. 841: Declaration of Interest in Real Property · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 841.03 requires naming as defendants anyone with an adverse interest the plaintiff wants the judgment to affect, while leaving it optional to name other people who hold some interest in the property.
Full Text of Section 841.03
Plain-English Summary
Section 841.03 sorts potential defendants into two groups. Persons claiming interests adverse to the plaintiff, where the plaintiff wants those interests affected by the judgment, must be named as defendants. That is a mandatory requirement tied directly to what the plaintiff is asking the judgment to do.
Other people with interests in the described property, whose interests the plaintiff is not seeking to affect, may be named as defendants but do not have to be. This distinction connects to what section 841.02 requires the complaint to describe and to the answer obligations set out in section 841.04.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who must be named as a defendant in a Wisconsin declaration-of-interest action?
Persons claiming interests adverse to the plaintiff, whose interests the plaintiff wants affected by the judgment.
Can I name someone with an interest even if my claim does not conflict with theirs?
Yes. Other persons with interests in the described property may be named as defendants, though it is not required.
What if I do not want the judgment to affect a particular adverse claimant?
Section 841.03 requires naming as a defendant only an adverse claimant whose interest the plaintiff wants affected by the judgment, so a claimant outside that scope is not required to be named.
Is naming non-adverse interest holders required?
No. The section says they may be named, not that they must be.
How does this section relate to what must be in the complaint under section 841.02?
Section 841.02 requires the complaint to describe adverse claimants’ interests, and section 841.03 identifies which of those claimants must be joined as defendants.
Amendment History
History: 1973 c. 189; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 767 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 841.03.
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 who must be named defendant real propertyadverse claimant defendant declaration of interestnaming defendants quiet title wisconsinoptional parties real property lawsuit wisconsin