Rule 25.Substitution of Parties.

When a party dies and the claim survives, the court may substitute the proper party on motion by any party or by the deceased party's successors or representatives, served like any other motion under Rule 5 and, on non-parties, in the manner Rule 4 requires for serving a summons. Once the death is suggested on the record, the motion for substitution must follow within 120 days or the action is dismissed as to the deceased party. If the right at stake survives only to or against the remaining plaintiffs or defendants, the case doesn't abate at all; the death is noted on the record and the action proceeds among the surviving parties. Similar rules apply to a party who becomes incompetent, letting the court allow the case to continue through that party's representative.

When an interest in the case is transferred to someone else during the litigation, the action can continue in the original party's name unless the court, on motion, orders the transferee substituted or joined. Public officers get their own rule: when an officer sued or suing in an official capacity dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the successor is automatically substituted with no need for a court order, and any misnomer that doesn't affect the parties' substantial rights is disregarded. A sitting public officer may also be named and described by title rather than by name, though the court may require the officer's actual name to be added.