Per stirpes means "by branch." It answers a question every plan eventually faces: if one of your children dies before you do, what happens to the share you meant for them? Under per stirpes, that share does not disappear or get redistributed among the surviving children — it drops down to the deceased child's own children and is split among them.
Take a concrete case. You have three children and leave your estate to them per stirpes. One child dies before you, leaving two children of their own. Your estate splits into three branch shares. Your two surviving children each take a full third. The deceased child's third is divided between their two children, who receive a sixth each.
The result is that each family line receives the same total regardless of how many people are standing in it. A branch with four grandchildren and a branch with one grandchild receive equal amounts, divided differently among more or fewer heads. That is a deliberate design choice, not an accident of the formula.
Per stirpes is the default many people would choose if asked, which is why it appears so often in wills, trusts, and beneficiary forms. It is not universally the default rule, though, and the exact statutory interpretation varies between states, so the term belongs in the document rather than left to be inferred.
Frequently asked
- How is per stirpes different from per capita?
- Per stirpes keeps shares within family lines; per capita divides equally among the individuals actually living at your death. Same family, different results: with three children, one deceased leaving two children of their own, per stirpes gives the two surviving children a third each and the grandchildren a sixth each. A common per capita approach counts four living takers and gives each a quarter, boosting the grandchildren and reducing your surviving children.
- Can I use per stirpes on a retirement account beneficiary form?
- Often yes, but only if the form supports it and you complete it correctly. Many custodian forms offer a per stirpes election as a checkbox or require specific wording; some older forms do not accommodate it at all. Where it is unavailable and a named beneficiary predeceases you, the plan's own default rules take over, which may route the share to other primary beneficiaries rather than to grandchildren. Check the form rather than assuming.
- Does per stirpes cover a child who has no children?
- If a beneficiary dies with no descendants, there is no branch to receive the share, so it is typically redistributed among the remaining branches. That is usually the intended outcome, but it is a case worth reading in your specific document, because drafting differs on whether the lapsed share is reallocated proportionally or handled some other way. Blended families in particular should confirm the language matches expectations.