Understanding the difference between per stirpes and per capita can determine whether your grandchildren receive an inheritance or are unintentionally left out.

Choosing a primary beneficiary - and contingent beneficiaries - is the only way to ensure that your funds are allocated according to your wishes. The per capita designation is usually the default ...

Ah, those Latin words that lawyers love. Or, at least, used to. These days most lawyers do try to communicate in English, but some Latin terms persist because they are shorthand for well understood in ...

Question: Help! My will divides my estate among my “issue per stirpes,” but what does that mean? Answer: Per stirpes is Latin meaning “by roots” or “by branch.” “Issue” refers to everyone down the ...

The new system is known both as "representation," and "per capita at each generation," and is taken from the Uniform Probate Code. It has two basic principles, which are illustrated by the examples ...