Bava Batra 137 – Sale of Inheritance

If a father writes his properties over to his son “from today and after I die” and the son sells them during his father's lifetime and then dies, then Rabbi Yochanan says that the buyer does not acquire those properties, but Resh Lakish says that the buyer acquires them. Rabbi Yochanan considers the ownership of the rights to the produce tantamount to ownership of the property itself. Therefore the father, who uses the property and is the primary owner, prevents the sale. Resh Lakish disagrees about this premise.

If one says, “My property shall go to you, and after you to so-and-so,” then the first one can sell it, and the second one has no recourse. However, initially the first one should not sell it. One who gives him advice to sell, since after the fact the second one has no recourse, is called a “smart bad person.”

Art: Jacques-Louis David - Death of Socrates