Examples of per stirpes distribution show one rule in action: the estate is split into equal shares at the first generation of children, and if a child has died before the grantor, that child’s share drops down to their own descendants rather than being redistributed among the surviving siblings. The share stays with the branch. How many people end up sharing it depends on how many descendants that branch produced.
The scenarios below work through the math for the situations families actually run into.
One Child Has Died and Left Children
This is the baseline. A grantor has three children: Alice, Bob, and Charlie. The will directs a per stirpes distribution of a $900,000 estate. Alice and Bob are alive. Charlie died before the grantor and left two children of his own.
The estate splits into three equal shares of $300,000, one for each original branch. Alice collects her $300,000. Bob collects his. Charlie’s $300,000 does not go back into the pot for Alice and Bob to divide. It drops to Charlie’s two children, who each receive $150,000. Those grandchildren collectively inherit exactly what their father would have received.
The will language that produces this result usually reads something like “I give my estate to my descendants, per stirpes,” or names each child individually with a fallback: “If [child’s name] does not survive me, this share shall be distributed to [child’s name]’s descendants, per stirpes.”
Branches of Different Sizes
Family size is where per stirpes surprises people. A grantor has two children, Sarah and David. Both die before the grantor. Sarah has one child. David has four. The estate is $1,000,000.
Split at the first generation, each branch gets $500,000. Sarah’s only child inherits the full $500,000 from her branch. David’s four children divide his $500,000, so each receives $125,000. Five grandchildren in the same generation, and one of them takes home four times what each cousin receives.
Per stirpes does not aim to treat every grandchild equally. It treats every branch equally. The dollar amount a grandchild receives is a function of how many siblings they have, not how closely related they are to the grantor. A grantor who wants all grandchildren to get the same amount needs different language, discussed below.
Two Generations Have Died
The drop-down keeps going as long as the branch has a living descendant somewhere. Suppose a grantor has one child who predeceased her, and that child had a son who also died before the grantor. The grandson left two living children, who are the grantor’s great-grandchildren. The estate is $600,000.
The whole estate was headed for the single child’s branch. Since both the child and the grandchild are gone, the money passes through both empty levels and splits between the two great-grandchildren, who each receive $300,000. The branch’s total value stays intact no matter how many intermediate generations have died, as long as someone in the bloodline is alive to receive it.
A Deceased Child Left No Descendants
The picture changes when a branch has died out entirely. A deceased person who left no surviving descendants is disregarded when calculating shares.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part II, Title II, Chapter 190B, Section 2-709 The branch effectively ceases to exist for distribution purposes.
Take the first example again, but change one fact. A grantor has three children: Alice, Bob, and Charlie. Charlie dies before the grantor with no children of his own. Instead of dividing the estate into three shares (with Charlie’s share going nowhere), the estate divides into two shares. Alice and Bob each receive half. Charlie’s branch is skipped at the first step rather than redistributed after it.
The practical effect is the same thing families expect: a childless deceased sibling’s share flows to the surviving siblings. The mechanism matters, though, because it changes what happens the moment any descendant exists. Compare the two Charlie scenarios: with two kids, Alice and Bob each receive one-third of the estate. Without kids, they each receive one-half. A single surviving grandchild on Charlie’s side pulls Alice and Bob’s shares back down from 50% to 33%.
How the Same Family Looks Under a Different Rule
The numbers above only mean something when you know what the alternative would have been. The main alternative is per capita at each generation, which is the default method under the Uniform Probate Code and the approach most states now follow for intestate estates. It divides shares at the first generation with living members, like per stirpes, but then pools the shares of all deceased members at that generation and redistributes them equally among all descendants at the next level.
Run the Sarah and David scenario under this rule. Both parents are dead, so their combined $1,000,000 is pooled and split equally among all five grandchildren. Each grandchild receives $200,000. Sarah’s only child goes from $500,000 under per stirpes to $200,000 under per capita at each generation. David’s four children each go from $125,000 to $200,000.
There is also per capita on its own, which divides the estate equally among surviving beneficiaries in the designated class and gives nothing to a deceased beneficiary’s descendants. If the grantor leaves assets “to my children, per capita” and one child has died, only the surviving children split the estate. The grandchildren on the dead child’s side get nothing unless the grantor named them separately.
Per stirpes serves grantors who think in branches. Per capita at each generation serves grantors who think in generations. Neither is better in the abstract. What matters is that the will says which one applies, because the default rule in your state may not match your intent.
Who Steps Into a Deceased Beneficiary’s Place
Per stirpes passes assets to descendants, which has a specific legal meaning:
- Biological children are always included.
- Legally adopted children are treated the same as biological children. An adopted grandchild steps into their parent’s branch exactly as a biological grandchild would.
- Stepchildren are excluded unless the grantor legally adopted them.
- Children born outside of marriage inherit automatically from the mother in every state. Inheritance from the father depends on state law and typically requires legal recognition such as a paternity order, a signed acknowledgment, or genetic testing.
The spouse of a deceased beneficiary is not a descendant. If a grantor’s son dies, the son’s widow receives nothing under a per stirpes clause. Only the son’s children inherit. A grantor who wants an in-law to receive something has to name that person directly.
Per Stirpes Outside the Will
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other assets with beneficiary designation forms pass outside of probate, and the beneficiary form controls who receives the money. Many custodians allow a per stirpes designation on the form itself, so that if a named beneficiary dies first, their share drops to their descendants rather than reverting to the account owner’s estate.
Not every institution accepts the designation. Federal Employees Group Life Insurance explicitly rejects per stirpes on its beneficiary forms, and the Office of Personnel Management suggests naming your estate as beneficiary so that the will’s per stirpes terms can apply instead.2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Is a Per Stirpes Designation? Can I Use One When Designating Beneficiaries for My FEGLI Life Insurance? If the primary beneficiary on a policy or account dies with no per stirpes designation, no contingent beneficiary, and no other fallback, the proceeds generally land in the estate and go through probate, which is a slow route for an asset that was designed to avoid it.