What is "per stirpes"

Latin, "by families, by stocks;" in legal use, for inheritances, etc., opposed to per capita.

phr. (context legal English) A method of distribute an estate to the descendants of a deceased legatee in which the estate is divided equally among the branches of a family, without regard to differing numbers of people in different branches.

Per stirpes (; "by branch") is a legal term in Latin. An estate of a decedent is distributed per stirpes if each branch of the family is to receive an equal share of an estate. When the heir in the first generation of a branch predeceased the decedent, the share that would have been given to the heir would be distributed among the heir's issue in equal shares. It may also be known as right of representation distribution, and differs from distribution per capita, as members of the same generation may inherit different amounts.