What is the proper recipient of the fidyah and kaffarah, and when does fidyah become obligatory upon one who is unable to fast due to an incurable illness or old age?

The disbursement of the fidyah (expiatory payment) and kaffarah (atonement) is the same: to the poor and the needy. It is permissible for the one who owes it to give multiple measures (amdad) to a single person. Its type is the staple food of the people of the land. As for the time of its disbursement, it can either be given for each day after its start, or for all the days after the end of Ramadan. It is not permissible to give it all at the beginning of Ramadan, nor for a day before its start.