What does per Stirpes mean? This is one question often asked when people are planning a wedding. The answer may surprise you! It means “without obligation or recompense”. This is quite an old term dating back to the time of the Roman Empire.

Per Stirpes means “a life-time inheritance, or right of survivorship”: If one’s living descendants (children, spouse, or both) receive one-third of an estate upon death, then the surviving members of the family are entitled to receive one-third too. In theory, this means that they receive one-third less of the deceased person’s estate than they would otherwise be entitled to. However, in practice, a surviving spouse may receive one-third only if the marriage is not terminated. If the surviving spouse dies first, their spouse is given one-third of the estate. If the surviving spouse dies later in the marriage, their surviving spouse is granted sole ownership of the estate and sole possession of their residence.

The question of what does per stirpes mean: for estate planning purposes can be answered by recognizing the social status of the individual who held the position of sole heir at a time in history when the estate was unoccupied. For instance, if a person is considered the heir apparent (“the next of kin”) the remaining assets go to them immediately. The remaining spouse or children are then left with whatever possessions of the deceased had left them upon his or her death. If the person who was considered the heir apparent did not have any assets, then both the surviving spouse and children would receive one-third of what the estate consisted of, regardless of whether they actually received that share or not. Estate taxes and capital gains tax considerations for these assets occur if the remaining spouse or children do receive one-third of the total value of the estate.

Another way of thinking about: what does per stirpes mean for your estate planning concerns the possibility that there are living descendants of you who are not actually you but who are named beneficiaries of your will. For example, if your parents die before you do, then you are named as the beneficiary of their estate. If your parents never had any children, then either you or your wife or child is named as the beneficiary. If you never married, then you are the living beneficiary. In this example, what does per stirpes mean for your estate planning purposes? It means that the minor children of your decedent become beneficiaries of your will if he or she has already died.

Now, if you have two children or more: what does per stirpes distribution plan mean for your estate? Assuming you have two children or more, then as the decedent’s surviving spouse, you are also a beneficiary of the decedent’s estate. This means that you may name two children as beneficiaries of the will. If the surviving spouse is still alive at the time of the testator’s death, then you may name three children as beneficiaries. You can name only two or three as your children, of whom one has the right to be the heir apparent to the estate if your husband or wife has died.

You may find that there is a problem with the distribution of the inheritance: if you have a large estate because the law will recognize some property or assets at several times the amount that you have designated as the per capita amount. Suppose, for example, you have designated ten thousand dollars as the per capita amount for your estate. If after your death only one of your twenty-one grandchildren receives anything more than the ten thousand dollars from the will.

The court will order a distribution based on the number of children who receive anything less than the specified per capita amount. What does per Stirpes mean in this instance?