If the court determines that the interests of the parties will be promoted by surveying or platting the premises or any part thereof, it shall, by order, direct the plaintiff or the referee to survey or to make and acknowledge a plat of such premises or a designated part thereof or both; which plat, when made, approved by the court and recorded shall have the same effect and validity as if made by the parties pursuant to ch. 236. When such plat is so made, approved and recorded, partition or sale if ordered may be made in accordance therewith.
842.08.Platting.
Ch. 842: Partition of Interest in Real Property · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 842.08 lets the court order the plaintiff or a referee to survey or plat the property when doing so would help the parties, and once that plat is approved by the court and recorded it carries the same effect as a plat the owners made themselves, with partition or sale following its lines.
Full Text of Section 842.08
Plain-English Summary
Some parcels are easier to divide without prejudice once they are formally surveyed or platted. Section 842.08 lets the court order that step when it determines the parties’ interests will be promoted by surveying or platting the premises, or a designated part of them. The court directs either the plaintiff or the referee to make and acknowledge the plat.
Once that plat is made, approved by the court, and recorded, it has the same effect and validity as if the parties themselves had made it under chapter 236 — the statute that otherwise governs plats. The court process does not produce a lesser or provisional document; the recorded plat stands on equal footing with one the owners created on their own.
After recording, the plat becomes the reference point for what follows. If the court orders partition or a sale, that partition or sale may be made in accordance with the plat, giving the case a fixed and recorded description of the parcels involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will a court order a survey or plat of the property in a partition case?
When it determines that the interests of the parties will be promoted by surveying or platting the premises, or a designated part of them.
Who does the surveying or platting?
The plaintiff or the referee, acting on the court’s order under section 842.08.
Does a court-ordered plat have the same legal effect as one the owners made privately?
Yes. Once made, approved by the court, and recorded, it has the same effect and validity as if made by the parties under chapter 236.
Can the plat cover only part of the property instead of the whole parcel?
Yes. Section 842.08 allows the order to direct a plat of the whole premises, a designated part of them, or both.
What happens after the plat is recorded?
Partition or sale, if ordered, may be made in accordance with the recorded plat.
Amendment History
History: 1973 c. 189; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 767 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 842.08.
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 partition survey and platcourt ordered plat of property wisconsinchapter 236 plat in a partition casesurveying land before partition wisconsin