Tools

Per stirpes vs per capita calculator

Shows who receives what from a life insurance payout if one of your children dies before you, under a per stirpes and a per capita designation.

Runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent or stored by this site. Results are estimates for planning, not a quote or advice.

How to use it

  1. Enter the death benefit.
  2. Choose how many children are named as beneficiaries, from 2 to 5.
  3. For each child, tick the box if the child is alive. If a child has died, enter how many children that child left.

The tool starts with three children where the second has died leaving two children. Two tables follow: one for per stirpes and one for per capita.

How the math works

Each named child starts with an equal share of the death benefit: the amount divided by the number of children named.

Per stirpes means "by branch." A living child gets the share. A deceased child's share passes down to that child's own children, who split it equally. If a deceased child left no descendants, that branch drops out and the benefit is divided equally among the remaining branches.

Per capita here means the plain form: the benefit is divided equally among the named beneficiaries who are alive. A deceased child's descendants receive nothing. If no named beneficiary is alive, the tool says the contingent beneficiary or your estate would collect.

Hypothetical example: a $600,000 death benefit, three named children, and the second child has died leaving two children of their own. Under per stirpes, the first and third children each receive $200,000, and the two grandchildren receive $100,000 each. Under per capita, the first and third children each receive $300,000 and the grandchildren receive nothing.

What it assumes

  • All named children share equally. The tool has no field for unequal percentages.
  • Only two generations are modeled. If a grandchild has also died, the tool does not pass that share further down.
  • Descendants of a living child are ignored, since the child takes the share.
  • The tool says insurers' forms and state laws define these terms slightly differently, so what it calls per capita may not match the wording on your designation form.

Where it stops being right

  • Real forms vary. Some forms define per capita differently, for example letting descendants of a deceased beneficiary share at their own generation, which this tool does not show. Read your designation form and ask the insurer how it applies the terms.
  • The tool covers one class of beneficiaries. It does not combine a spouse, a trust, charities or a contingent beneficiary with the children.
  • Your policy and state law decide what happens when no designation covers the situation. A minor grandchild may need a custodian or trust to receive the money; see naming a minor child as life insurance beneficiary.

The per stirpes vs per capita beneficiary designations guide explains the legal terms. If your designation does not say what you want, how to change your life insurance beneficiary covers the process, and the annual life insurance policy review checklist reminds you to check designations each year.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

Related guides

Per stirpes vs per capita beneficiary designations Per stirpes sends a deceased beneficiary's share to their children; per capita splits it among survivors. A worked example and what to check on your form. How to choose a life insurance beneficiary Who to name as a life insurance beneficiary, how to split shares, and when a trust or custodian beats naming a child or your estate. Includes a checklist. Primary vs contingent beneficiaries A primary beneficiary is paid first; a contingent beneficiary is the backup. How the two levels work, how to split shares, and what happens when both are gone. What happens if your beneficiary dies before you Who gets the death benefit when a named beneficiary dies first: contingent beneficiaries, shares, anti-lapse rules, simultaneous deaths and the estate fallback. How to change your life insurance beneficiary Step-by-step: who can change a beneficiary, the form and confirmation to get, when you need consent, and mistakes that let an old designation stand. Naming a minor child as life insurance beneficiary Insurers won't pay a minor directly. Compare a court guardianship, a UTMA custodian and a trust for children's life insurance money, and how to set each up.

Terms used here

Per stirpes A way of splitting proceeds by family branch, so if a beneficiary dies before the insured, that person's share passes to their own descendants. Per capita A way of dividing proceeds equally among the named beneficiaries still living at the insured's death, so a deceased one's share goes to the survivors. Contingent beneficiary The person or entity who receives life insurance proceeds only if every primary beneficiary has died or cannot accept the payment. Primary beneficiary The person, trust, charity or estate first in line to receive a life insurance death benefit when the insured dies. Beneficiary designation The signed instruction on file with an insurer naming who receives a policy's proceeds, in what shares and in what order.

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