Short answer. No. Civil Code Article 751 says donations cannot comprehend future property — anything the donor cannot dispose of at the time the donation is made. If you expect to inherit or acquire an asset later, you cannot validly donate it now; the donation can only cover what is already yours.
What the law says
Donations cannot comprehend future property. By future property is understood anything which the donor cannot dispose of at the time of the donation.
Civil Code, Article 751 — Future Property Cannot Be Donated. Read the full provision →
The test is your power to dispose right now
Article 751 defines future property precisely: “anything which the donor cannot dispose of at the time of the donation.” It is not about whether you will own the asset eventually, or how confident you are that you will. It is about whether you have the actual power to dispose of it at the moment you sign the donation. If you do not — because it is not yet yours, or your right to it has not vested — the donation cannot cover it.
Common situations this rules out
A person who expects to inherit from a living relative cannot donate that anticipated inheritance in advance, because it is not theirs to dispose of while the person they expect to inherit from is still alive. The same goes for property under a pending sale you have not yet closed, or an award you expect from a case that has not been decided. In each case, the asset is not within your disposing power today, which is what Article 751 requires.
What you can donate instead
The rule is not a ban on planning ahead — it is a requirement that a donation attach to something you can actually give away when you make it. Property you already own outright, even if you intend to keep it a while longer, can be validly donated now. What Article 751 forecloses is trying to donate the same asset before your ownership or disposing power over it has actually arrived.
Why the law draws this line
A donation is meant to be an act of present generosity, transferring something the donor genuinely has to give. Allowing donations of future property would let people give away assets they do not yet control, creating claims and expectations against property that may never actually come to them, or that belongs, for now, to someone else entirely. Requiring present disposing power keeps the donation tied to something real rather than a hope or an expectation.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Pastor Jose Sy, Jesus the Son of God Christian Ministry and all other persons... GR No. 254320 July 5, 2021 Joe Anne Fernandez Y Bueno vs. People Of The Philippines, G.R. No. 230120, July 5, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →