The zakah of one who died a few days before Ramadan, and who used to pay his zakah in Ramadan

The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, a man died a few days before the month of Ramadan, and he used to pay his zakah in Ramadan. Do the heirs pay his zakah before the estate is divided?

The Shaykh:
A man died.

The questioner:
A man died a few days before the month of Ramadan, and he used to pay his zakah in Ramadan. Do the heirs pay his zakah before the estate is divided?

The Shaykh:
Yes, they pay it, because it was only a few days, a very short time. A short time is tolerated. The lunar year (hawl) had completed, and even if a few days or a short period were missing, they pay it from the estate, because it became obligatory upon him before he died, as he died at the end of the hawl. Yes.

The questioner:
I say, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it not the case that when a man dies, one of the conditions of zakah, which is ownership, is dropped?

The Shaykh:
Yes, but it was obligatory upon him before ownership was dropped. It was obligatory upon him as the hawl completed before he died, before ownership was dropped. Ownership is only dropped when his soul leaves his body. When his soul leaves his body, ownership is dropped, but it was obligatory upon him before he died, established in his liability, so it becomes a debt in his liability. Yes.