If the defendant makes default in appearing or pleading or if the right of the plaintiff to dower is not disputed by the answer, or if it appears, by the verdict, report, or decision upon a trial, that the plaintiff is entitled to dower in the real property described in the complaint an interlocutory judgment must be rendered which, except as otherwise prescribed in this article, must direct that the plaintiff's dower in the property, particularly describing it, be admeasured by a referee, designated in the judgment, or by three reputable and disinterested freeholders, designated therein, as commissioners for that purpose.
New York Legal Code