Short answer. No. Under Article 828 of the Civil Code, a will may be revoked by the testator at any time before death, and any waiver or restriction of this right is void. A clause in the will or a separate agreement promising not to revoke it has no legal force whatsoever.
What the law says
A will may be revoked by the testator at any time before his death. Any waiver or restriction of this right is void.
Civil Code, Article 828 — A Will Is Always Revocable. Read the full provision →
The absolute freedom to revoke
Article 828 of the Civil Code establishes one of the most absolute rules in succession law: a testator may revoke a will at any time before death, and nothing can take that right away. It does not matter how the attempted restriction is framed — a clause inside the will itself declaring it irrevocable, a separate notarized agreement with an heir, a promise made before witnesses, or a deed of assignment of expected inheritance. None of these binds the testator. The right to change your mind about your will is personal, inalienable, and survives every agreement you might make to waive it.
Why the law makes this non-waivable
The prohibition on irrevocability clauses reflects a deep policy choice: a will disposes of property that will not transfer until death, and the testator's life circumstances, relationships, and intentions can change dramatically over the years between signing a will and dying. Locking in the distribution scheme forever would mean people could be pressured into making irrevocable dispositions at a moment of weakness or under undue influence, with no way back. Allowing testators to always revoke also protects against heirs who might coerce a favorable will by extracting a promise that it will never change. The void-on-its-face rule removes any incentive to try.
What an heir who relies on the promise can do
If you promised an heir you would not change your will, and then you change it anyway, the heir cannot enforce the promise. The promise was void from the moment you made it. The heir has no claim based on the earlier will — once a valid revocation occurs, the earlier will produces no legal effects. The heir's only practical protection is the law itself: compulsory heirs retain their legitime regardless of the will's contents. But beyond that legal minimum, an heir who was promised a specific bequest has no legal remedy when a testator exercises the unwaivable right to revoke.
How to properly revoke a will when you are ready
The Civil Code recognizes several ways to revoke a will: executing a new will that revokes the earlier one expressly or by inconsistency, burning or destroying the original will with intent to revoke, or making other legally recognized acts of revocation. The formalities depend on the type of revocation and the type of will involved. If you have already signed a will and now want to change it, the right course is to consult a lawyer who can help you execute a valid new will or codicil — not to rely on the assumption that the old one remains effective simply because someone thinks you promised not to change it.