Sends a deceased beneficiary's share to that beneficiary's own descendants.
In short. A per stirpes beneficiary designation directs that if a primary beneficiary predeceases the account owner, that beneficiary's share is divided among that beneficiary's own descendants rather than being redistributed to surviving co-beneficiaries.
The default on most beneficiary forms is that a deceased beneficiary's share is split among the surviving co-beneficiaries. A per stirpes designation overrides that default. The deceased beneficiary's children (or their children) step into the share. The result preserves the family branch even when the named beneficiary does not survive.
Families include a per stirpes designation when the account owner wants each child's branch of the family to receive its share regardless of who survives. Without it, the grandchildren of a predeceasing child can be cut out entirely on the account, even when the will or trust would have protected them.
Arizona codifies per stirpes representation under ARS § 14-2106. The beneficiary form, not the will or trust, controls the account at the moment of death, so the per stirpes election must be on the form itself. Most major custodians offer per stirpes as a check-box on the designation form, but not all carriers do, and some retirement plans treat per stirpes ambiguously without specific instructions.
Forms that include a per stirpes election typically contain language along these lines: "To my children, in equal shares, per stirpes." Some forms require the term "per stirpes" to be hand-written next to each named beneficiary. Descriptive only.
The most common failure is leaving the beneficiary form on a custodian default that is not per stirpes when the will or trust assumes a per stirpes outcome. The form controls. A second failure is using "per stirpes" on a custodian's form that does not honor that election, leaving the form ambiguous. A third pitfall is failing to update designations after a beneficiary's death or birth of new descendants.
This page describes how this clause works in general terms. It is not legal advice and not a drafting template. Whether a clause like this belongs in your plan depends on your family, your assets, and your goals. Drafting is performed by partner attorneys we work with.