Also known as:prorata · pro-rata · prorated · prorating · proportionally · in proportion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method of allocation or distribution in which each recipient receives a share proportional to its interest, claim, contribution, or right.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Fee Division Between Counsel
Patrick Phan and Peter Park, lawyers not in the same firm, jointly represent a client in a civil matter. Phan performs sixty percent of the work while Park performs the remaining forty percent. When the client pays the total fee, the lawyers divide it so that Phan receives sixty percent and Park receives forty percent.
Partnership Profit Distribution
Pulse Media and Progressive Healthcare form a general partnership. The partners agree to equal distribution rights. After operations generate a surplus, each partner receives an equal share of the profits. Losses, if any, are charged to each partner in the same proportion.
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Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Restatements
Casebooks
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Study Supplements
Congress considers imposing a direct tax on property holdings across the states. To comply with the constitutional requirement, the tax burden is spread among the states according to each state's share of the national population as determined by the census.
Limited Partnership Dissolution
Pioneer Energy, a limited partnership, dissolves with transferable interests outstanding. After satisfying creditor claims, the remaining surplus is paid to interest holders according to each holder's percentage right to distributions immediately before dissolution.
Elective Share Apportionment
After Philip Powell's death, his surviving spouse elects against the will. The augmented estate proves insufficient to satisfy the full elective share. The unsatisfied balance is apportioned among recipients of the net probate estate and certain nonprobate transfers according to the value of each recipient's interest.
Corporate Asset Distribution
Pinnacle Holdings decides to liquidate and distribute its remaining assets. The board authorizes payments to holders of common stock according to each shareholder's proportionate ownership of the outstanding shares in that class.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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How does pro rata allocation differ from an equal per capita division?+
Pro rata allocation assigns each recipient a share based on its relative interest, contribution, or claim rather than giving every participant the same absolute amount. In partnership law, for example, equal distribution rights produce equal shares only when all partners hold identical interests. Otherwise the shares vary proportionally.
Supporting sources
When may lawyers not in the same firm divide a fee on a pro rata basis?+
Lawyers not in the same firm may divide a fee in proportion to the services each performed or when each assumes joint responsibility for the representation, provided the client agrees in writing and the total fee is reasonable.
Supporting sources
How is pro rata distribution applied when a limited partnership dissolves?+
After creditors are paid, any surplus is distributed first to holders of unreturned contributions and then among transferable-interest owners in proportion to their respective rights to share in distributions immediately before dissolution.
Supporting sources
What happens when an elective-share amount cannot be fully satisfied from the augmented estate?+
The unsatisfied balance is apportioned among recipients of the net probate estate and certain nonprobate transfers in proportion to the value of each recipient's interest in those assets.
Supporting sources
339 U.S. 306, 313-314 (1950)Civil Procedure
…The income, capital gains, losses and expenses of the collective trust are shared by the constituent trusts in proportion to their contribution. By this plan, diversification of risk and economy of management can be extended to those whose capital standing alone would not obtain such advantage. Statutory…