Dear PAO,

On Feb. 18, 2024, our father died, leaving my two siblings and me a parcel of agricultural land. Last week, I learned that our brother executed a Deed of Absolute Sale covering a specific portion of the lot without our consent, despite the property not having been partitioned yet. Is the sale valid? Can we, as co-heirs, disallow the sale?

Jun-jun

Dear Jun-jun,

In the case of Juan P. Cabrera v. Henry Isaac (GR 166790, Nov. 19, 2014), the Supreme Court held, through Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, that:

“Unless all the co-owners have agreed to partition their property, none of them may sell a definite portion of the land. The co-owner may only sell his or her proportionate interest in the co-ownership. A contract of sale which purports to sell a specific or definite portion of unpartitioned land is null and void ab initio.xxx

“If the alienation precedes the partition, the co-owner cannot sell a definite portion of the land without consent from his or her co-owners. He or she could only sell the undivided interest of the co-owned property. As summarized in Lopez v. Ilustre, ‘[i]f he is the owner of an undivided half of a tract of land, he has a right to sell and convey an undivided half, but he has no right to divide the lot into two parts, and convey the whole of one part by metes and bounds.’

“The undivided interest of a co-owner is also referred to as the ‘ideal or abstract quota’ or ‘proportionate share.’ On the other hand, the definite portion of the land refers to specific metes and bounds of a co-owned property.”

In this case, when your father passed away, you and your siblings became co-owners of the agricultural land that he left behind. As laid down in the above-entitled case, a sale of a definite portion of a co-owned and unpartitioned property requires the consent of all the co-owners. Failure to obtain the unanimous consent of the co-owners would invalidate the contract of sale.

Hence, the deed of absolute sale, executed by your brother, purporting to sell a specific portion of the subject agricultural land, without you and your other sibling’s consent and prior to partition of the property, was null and void. As co-heir you may, then, object and invalidate the sale.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

We appreciate your trust and support.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected].