The Ruling on Disposing of the Property of a Person Who Has Lost Their Memory and Distributing Their Estate

Question:
The sister questioner, who used the code name Umm Ram, from Riyadh, says: If a shaykh has been in a state of memory loss for many years and is bedridden, and he has sons and daughters, is it permissible for them to give charity and do good deeds from his money? And is the estate distributed to his heirs while he is still alive and has a lot of money, even though he does not enjoy anything of this world?

Answer:
No, this is not permissible. Rather, his money is preserved and not disposed of. Disposal of it is suspended, except that his guardian pays the zakah, which is an obligation among the obligations of Islam. He pays the zakah. So a person like this goes to the Sharia court, and they appoint a guardian over his money, and they complete its zakah when the time for zakah arrives. He does not give charity other than the zakah, and he does not dispose of his money, and it is not distributed to the heirs, because they have not become heirs yet. The money belongs to its owner, and they do not become heirs until after his death. So these moneys are preserved and protected, and only its zakah is paid out. And if he has people whose maintenance is obligatory upon him, such as his wife or children, he spends on them from it. His guardian spends on them from his money because he takes his place.