Legal Definitions - Modified Per Stirpes

Modified Per Stirpes is a legal method used to distribute the assets of a person who has died without a valid will, a situation known as dying "intestate." This system determines how the deceased person's property, not allocated to a surviving spouse, is divided among their descendants.

The core principle of Modified Per Stirpes is to identify the closest generation to the deceased that contains at least one living member. This generation then becomes the starting point for dividing the estate into primary shares. Each living member of that generation receives one share, and each deceased member of that generation who has living descendants also receives a share. If a member of this primary generation is deceased, their share is then further divided among their own living descendants. This approach ensures that the initial division of the estate occurs at the first level where there are actual living heirs, rather than always starting at the children's generation regardless of whether any children are alive.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how Modified Per Stirpes works:

• Scenario 1: All children have passed away, but grandchildren are alive.

  Imagine Mrs. Rodriguez passes away without a will. She had three children: Maria, Juan, and Sofia. Sadly, all three children predeceased Mrs. Rodriguez. However, Maria had two living children (grandchild A and grandchild B), Juan had one living child (grandchild C), and Sofia had three living children (grandchild D, grandchild E, and grandchild F).

  • How Modified Per Stirpes applies: Under this system, the children's generation (Maria, Juan, Sofia) has no living members. The next generation, the grandchildren, does have living members (A, B, C, D, E, F). Therefore, the estate is divided into primary shares at the grandchildren's level. The estate would be divided into six equal shares, with each of the six living grandchildren receiving one-sixth of Mrs. Rodriguez's estate.

• Scenario 2: One child is living, and other children have passed away but left descendants.

  Consider Mr. Chen, who dies without a will. He is survived by his son, David. Mr. Chen also had two other children, Emily and Frank, who both passed away before him. Emily had two living children (grandchild X and grandchild Y), and Frank had one living child (grandchild Z).

  • How Modified Per Stirpes applies: In this case, the children's generation (David, Emily, Frank) has a living member (David). So, the estate is initially divided into three primary shares at this generation. David receives one full share (one-third of the estate). Emily's share (also one-third of the estate) is then divided equally between her two living children, grandchild X and grandchild Y, meaning each receives one-sixth of the total estate. Frank's share (the remaining one-third of the estate) is passed entirely to his living child, grandchild Z, who receives one-third of the total estate.