The Ruling on Giving Charity and Reading the Qur'an for the Living and for the Dead
Question:
Is it permissible for a person to give charity on behalf of his parents while they are still living and may he recite the Qur'an on their behalf, and if so, is the intention for one of them, to give charity or recite, sufficient?
Answer:
It is permitted to give charity on behalf of one's parents or others, whether living or dead and the intention made in the heart is sufficient. If he were to say aloud: "O Allah! Accept this charity on behalf of my parents", there would be no harm in that. And it is a part of the Sunnah to supplicate for one's parents, relatives and (all of) the Muslims and to ask forgiveness for them and such like..
As for reciting the Qur'an for them so that they might receive the reward of it, many scholars allow it, but it has not been transmitted (from the Prophet or the Companions) and therefore no regard should be paid to this. The majority of scholars prohibit it because of the absence of narrations supporting it. But if one does it occasionally, then no one should express disapproval of it.
Source:
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 1 Page 91