Zakah/Sadaqah question

The questions were answered by Sh Shakir Elsayed (transcribed by Br Jose Acevedo)  The answer is in red:

I had a question regarding Zakah and Sadaqah. Can a person in debt pay Zakah or Sadaqah? Zakah is to be paid on any saved/stored money.  If you have the threshold, then must pay zakah.  Debts like car loans or mortgages are part of our budget and do not disqualify our need to pay zakah.

Also, is there a difference for the dead person (i.e. if someone who's in debt and hadn't given Zakah has died, must his family give the Zakah on his behalf first or must they first pay off his debt)?  Both instances are a debt (the debt to a person and the Zakah).  Family of the deceased should pay on the deceased's behalf.  However, some scholars believe that it is the deceased's responsibility only.

I've been confused because I heard that the peoples' right over you has to be fulfilled before Allah's Right on you, because Allah is more likely to forgive your shortcomings.  Zakah is a right that the poor have on us.  

Allahu alim