Per stirpes


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Per stirpes

A method for distributing the assets of an individual who dies without a valid will. The Latin means for each descendant.
Copyright © 2012, Campbell R. Harvey. All Rights Reserved.

Per Stirpes

In wills and some retirement accounts, a provision stating that, should a beneficiary die before the testator or account holder, the assets designated for that beneficiary shall pass to his/her heirs. Most often, this provision is not used for a single asset, but rather as a means of dividing a whole estate. For example, if a testator dies leaving an estate to children Frank, Bob, and Joan, and Joan is already dead, an estate per stirpes would divide evenly among Frank and Bob, who each receive one-third, and any of Joan's living children, who collectively receive one-third.
Farlex Financial Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Per stirpes.

Per stirpes is the legal term for transferring the assets of your estate to your children and their descendants.

With a per stirpes distribution, each of your children who is named as a beneficiary is entitled to an equal share. If one of your children is no longer alive, that person's children or children's children divide his or her share.

For example, if you had two children each of whom had two children and one of your children died before you did, under a per stirpes bequest, your surviving child would receive 50% of your estate and the children of your deceased child would each receive 25%.

Dictionary of Financial Terms. Copyright © 2008 Lightbulb Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

per stirpes

A method of distributing an estate when one of the beneficiaries dies before the testator.The predeceased beneficiary's share is divided equally among that person's own heirs.

Example: Beth leaves $900,000 to her heirs, per stirpes. She has three children, but two of them die before her. Each child would have received $300,000 if alive. For the children who died first, each one's $300,000 share will be split equally among their own children. Grandchild John receives nothing, because his mother was still alive to receive her gift. Contrast with per capita, in which all members of a generational class take equal shares.
The Complete Real Estate Encyclopedia by Denise L. Evans, JD & O. William Evans, JD. Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Elena and her four sisters, or to their issue per stirpes if one or more
CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST-INFECTED VIRTUAL REPRESENTATIVES AND A CURE
(20) Under Florida law, heirs pay their share of taxes based on their per stirpes interest, but heirs who are unaware of their ownership interest may also be unaware of their tax obligations.
The Disproportionate Impact of Heirs' Property in Florida's Low-Income Communities of Color
The policyholder names a class of beneficiaries per capita or per stirpes.
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The rules related to heirs per stirpes apply if an author predeceases the exercise of his or her right of notice of termination.
Termination of copyright transfers: whether sound recordings created on or after 1978 constitute works made for hire under the copyright act of 1976
It is best when making a per stirpes distribution to specify what is meant since different jurisdictions have varying interpretations of the per stirpes rule.
Chapter 5: Legal aspects of life insurance
If the bequests were made "per stirpes," then the assets were divided at the primary beneficiary level and the children of primaries would divide their respective parent's share.
Understanding the pitfalls of beneficiary designation forms
(41) Distribution to representatives is per stirpes. (42)
Beyond DL Wills: preparing wills for domiciliaries of Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
To prevent this, the designation should be changed to include a share for the descendants of the deceased child or changed to "per stirpes."
Beneficiary designations: 4 reasons why they may be out of date
For example, suppose that the insured has three children and that the residuary clause in the revocable trust provides that, "the balance is to be divided into shares, per stirpes, for the Settlor's descendants as survive the Settlor, and each such share shall be disposed of as provided in Article 4 of this Trust," under which Article 4 contains lifetime trusts for the descendants.
Morey v. Everbank: three drafting tips to avoid a troubling decision
The will required that the remainder pass to Marie "if she survives me, and if she does not survive me, or dies before my estate is distributed to her, to my issue me surviving, in equal shares per stirpes." Later handwritten notes to the will by Sowder did not contain the language "if she does not survive me, or dies before my estate is distributed to her."
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Upon the death of the survivor of the wife and the husband, any assets of the wife's CST that the husband does not appoint will be distributed to the wife's still living descendants, per stirpes, or one-half to the wife's heirs and one-half to the husband's heirs determined under state law as if the wife and the husband had each died on that date as residents of that state.
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If a beneficiary died without issue, his share was divided among the remaining beneficiaries or their issue per stirpes. No principal was distributable until the death of the last surviving primary beneficiary.
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