Short answer. If the claim survives the death, the case continues against the deceased's legal representative or heirs, who are substituted for the deceased. The deceased's counsel must inform the court of the death within thirty days and name the legal representative; the court then orders substitution within thirty days from notice.
What the law says
Whenever a party to a pending action dies, and the claim is not thereby extinguished, it shall be the duty of his counsel to inform the court within thirty days after such death of the fact thereof, and to give the name and address of his legal representative or representatives.
Rule 3, Section 16 — Death of party; duty of counsel. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The heirs of the deceased may be allowed to be substituted for the deceased, without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator
Rule 3, Section 16 — Death of party; duty of counsel. Read the full provision →
Death does not automatically end the case
Rule 3, Section 16 starts from the decisive question — whether the claim survives: Whenever a party to a pending action dies, and the claim is not thereby extinguished, the machinery of substitution takes over. Claims that concern property, contracts, or recoverable sums generally continue; what changes is not the case but the person defending it. Only where the claim is of a kind extinguished by death does the action end with the party. If your claim survives, the death of the defendant means delay and a change of names in the caption — not the loss of the suit.
Counsel's thirty-day duty
The first obligation falls on the deceased's own lawyer, who must inform the court within thirty days after such death of the fact thereof and give the name and address of his legal representative or representatives. The section adds teeth: Failure of counsel to comply with this duty shall be a ground for disciplinary action. For the surviving plaintiff, this means the notice of death should come to the court from the other side — but if you learn of the death independently, telling the court yourself protects the record and starts the substitution moving rather than leaving the case in silent limbo.
Heirs step in — no estate proceedings required first
Substitution is deliberately kept simple: The heirs of the deceased may be allowed to be substituted for the deceased, without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator, and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs. You are not forced to wait for a separate estate settlement before your case can move. Once the representative is named, the court shall forthwith order said legal representative or representatives to appear and be substituted within a period of thirty days from notice.
If nobody appears for the estate
The rule anticipates stonewalling. If counsel names no representative, or the one named fails to appear within the period, the court may order the opposing party, within a specified time, to procure the appointment of an executor or administrator for the estate of the deceased, who must then immediately appear on the deceased's behalf. The cost of doing so is not lost: court charges in procuring the appointment, if paid by the opposing party, may be recovered as costs. In short, the defendant's death cannot be used as a wall — the Rules give the surviving party a way to put someone across the table.