what is per stirpes 
per stirpes latin for by branch is a legal term that may be used for estate planning purposes such as in a last will and testament 1 it designates who will inherit assets if a beneficiary dies before the person who created the will the testator dies with a per stirpes distribution the beneficiary s share of the estate will pass to the beneficiary s heirs or descendants while the term per stirpes is commonly used to refer to an individual s assets under a will it is also sometimes used in beneficiary designations within individual retirement accounts iras 