Short answer. No. Under Article 1347, no contract may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly authorized by law. While your parents are alive, you have no inheritance yet — only an expectancy. A contract purporting to sell that expectancy is void unless a specific legal provision permits it.
What the law says
No contract may be entered into upon future inheritance except in cases expressly authorized by law.
Civil Code, Article 1347 — Object of Contracts. Read the full provision →
What future inheritance means
A future inheritance is the property a person expects to receive from someone who has not yet died. As long as your parents are alive, there is no estate to divide and no definite share to transfer — only an expectancy that depends on what they own at death, what debts the estate carries, and who else might be a compulsory heir. Article 1347 prohibits treating that expectancy as a present asset that can be bought and sold, because it is too uncertain and too easy to exploit.
Why the prohibition exists
The rule protects both the would-be heir and the person who is still alive. An heir under financial pressure might sign away their future share for far less than it is worth, impoverishing themselves years later. The prohibition also prevents heirs from racing to cash out their expectations in ways that pressure the living person or create conflicts during their lifetime. Contracts over future inheritances tend to produce litigation and bad faith, which is why the Civil Code treats them as void rather than merely voidable.
The exception: expressly authorized by law
Article 1347 carves out one escape: cases expressly authorized by law. The exception is narrow and requires a specific statutory basis — a general sense that both parties agreed is not enough. The existing statutory exceptions are few and carefully delimited. If you believe a particular agreement might qualify, the question is whether a specific provision of the Civil Code or another applicable law affirmatively permits that type of arrangement between heirs and persons whose estate is not yet open.
Distinguishing from other contracts
Not all agreements about future property are prohibited. A contract over a future thing — goods to be manufactured, a crop to be harvested — is generally valid under the opening sentences of Article 1347. The prohibition applies specifically to contracts over future inheritance: the anticipated share in the estate of a person who is still living. A deed of assignment executed after the person has died, when the succession has already opened and shares can actually be computed, is a different matter entirely and does not fall under this prohibition.
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.
- Atty. Pedro M. Ferrer vs. Spouses Alfredo Diaz, et al, G.R. No. 165300, April 23, 2010 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Belinda Tañedo, et al. vs. the Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 104482, January 22, 1996 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Evangeline Engao Asis, Heirs of Felicitation Engao-Bautista, Namely: Fernando B. Bautista, Agueda Fe B, G.R. No. 242127, September 15, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Heirs of Zosimo Q. Maravilla vs. Privaldo Tupas, G.R. No. 192132, September 14, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →