Per stirpes is a Latin term that means "by roots."
In a legal context, per stirpes is commonly used in the law of wills and trusts when items are passed along to descendants because they are members of the same family group.
People who inherit things "per stirpes" usually do so after an initial beneficiary dies.
Cash, real property, paintings, jewelry, cars and other items can all be inherited per stirpes.
An example of something being inherited per stirpes would be if a man passed along $200,000 to his daughter, or to his grandson per stirpes (if his daughter should die). If the man's daughter died and the grandson then inherited the money, he would be inheriting it per stirpes. The inheritance would be passed on to him because he is a member of the family group.