Per capita

What it means

Per capita means by the head. The share is divided among those living at the relevant moment, and a deceased beneficiary's branch drops out.

Some forms and wills use a middle option — per capita at each generation — which pools each generation's shares and divides them equally within it.

The words are close and the outcomes are not, which is why the language of the form matters more than the intention behind it.

Why it matters

It is the reason a grandchild can be left with nothing when their parent died first, from a will their grandparent thought treated everyone equally.

It is also the default on some institutional forms, so silence is a choice.

When you are likely to meet it

• When completing a beneficiary designation.
• When a beneficiary died before the account holder.
• When reading how a will divides the residue.

How this varies by state

How a share is divided among descendants at different generations is set by each state's representation statute, and the same words can produce different splits.

Related terms

• Anti-lapse statuteThe rule that sends a gift to the children of a beneficiary who died before the person who made the will.
• Beneficiary designationA named person on an account or policy who receives it directly on death, without it passing through the will or probate.
• Contingent beneficiaryThe person who receives an account or policy if the first-named beneficiary has died or cannot take it.
• HeirSomeone entitled to inherit under state law when there is no will — not simply a relative.
• Per stirpesA way of dividing an inheritance so that if a beneficiary has died, their share passes down to their own children rather than to the other beneficiaries.
• Primary beneficiaryThe first person in line on an account or policy, ahead of any contingent beneficiary.
• Residuary estateWhatever is left after specific gifts, debts, taxes and expenses have been dealt with. Most wills give it away in a single clause.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Beneficiary designations
• When a beneficiary died first