"Per stirpes" is a legal term that refers to a method of distributing assets in a will or trust. It is Latin for "by branches" and it is used to describe how property is distributed among descendants.
When a will or trust is written "per stirpes", it means that if a beneficiary predeceases the testator (the person who made the will) or grantor (the person who created the trust) and leaves behind descendants, the descendants will inherit the deceased beneficiary's share of the property.
For example, if a parent leaves their estate to their children "per stirpes" and one of their children predeceases them, leaving behind grandchildren, the deceased child's share of the estate would be distributed among the grandchildren, rather than being divided among the remaining siblings.
It's an alternative distribution method to "per capita", which means that the assets would be distributed equally among the descendants, regardless of their degree of relation to the testator or grantor.
This way of distribution is usually used when the testator or grantor wants to ensure that the descendants of a deceased beneficiary will not be disinherited and the assets will be passed down the line of descendants, rather than being distributed among the remaining beneficiaries.
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