I read that when making a revocable living trust, I could leave my property to my children “per stirpes.” Why is the law talking about us like we’re some kind of zebra?
The phrase is Latin and it is “per stirpes,” not “per stripes.” Some bits of property law are extremely ancient in origin (and spelling) and this is one of them. The phrase means literally, “by the branch.” Most people want their property to pass to their children, but they don’t consider a situation few of us care to think about. What should happen to our property if our children die before us?
If a child has died before the parent who leaves property through a will or trust, and that deceased child has passed without leaving any children, many would say that the property should be divided among the remaining children. That situation is pretty straightforward. Suppose that you had three children, and your will or trust said to distribute the property to your children in equal shares “per stirpes.” Then one of your children died without children of their own. The “per stirpes” designation in your will would mean that your surviving children would split your property into two equal shares.
The complication comes, though, when one child has died leaving his or her own children. Let’s call those children “grandchildren.” Would you, as the parent leaving the property, want those “grandchildren” to split the share you had intended for your now-deceased child?
That would be the simplest solution and that is what “per stirpes” would do. If you had three children, and one died leaving two “grandchildren,” your will or trust would direct that your two surviving children would get one-third each, and the surviving “grandchildren” would get one-sixth each. That is how the distribution “per stirpes” works out. The problem there, though, is that from the grandchildren’s point of view, they might inherit less than the other grandchildren; especially if the other children had an only child. There are a couple of other options we can discuss with you. Or, you can do as most people do, opt for “per stirpes,” and leave it at that.
Zebras have nothing to do with it.
If you’d like to discuss your particular estate planning situation, please contact us or schedule a meeting. We are happy to help.
