pure per stirpes

Pure per stirpes is a method of distributing an intestate estate among a decedent’s descendants. After any portion passing to a surviving spouse is distributed, the estate is divided into equal shares at the first generational level below the decedent (the children). Each living child receives a share. If a child predeceased the decedent, that child’s share passes to the child’s descendants, divided equally among them.

A key feature of pure per stirpes is that the division always begins at the children’s generation, even if all of the decedent’s children are deceased. In that case, the estate is divided into as many primary shares as there were children, with each share distributed down the line to grandchildren or further descendants. A deceased child with no living descendants is disregarded when counting shares.

[Last reviewed in September of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team] 

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