Probate application for letters of administration Desperately seeking advice please

[oracle39]

This is for an application for letters of administration where there is no Will. Estate value low under £210,000.Started filling in forms and came to a stumbling block on IHT205, can anyone please advise because it seems the answer could go in one of three places.
There was a joint account for convenience sake as mum in law was housebound, husband paid nothing in but paid all her bills etc , so thought yep include it in 13.2 However he has paid all her debts and funeral costs out of it (as they arose), and the bank has transferred the account to him even though he only sent the death certificate to enquire of value of all accounts and to check if they had a Will. I know these accounts are usually passed to surviving owner.
The guide lines say if the other joint owner didn't put money in it should be 13.2. But the account has passed to my husband, and he has used a large proportion of it to pay funeral costs and her final bills.
However does the money from this account go on the form as 13.2 all monies or 14.3 Joint assets passing automatically to surviving joint owner or 14.4 Nominated assets?
Also if he already paid those "debts" and funeral expenses, should we bshow the sum before he paid them, and then show them as outstanding debts in sections 15.1 & 15.3.
Why does the tax man not realise everything is not black and white.
If I include the some with all monies at 13.2 with the balance as it stands now at this point in time can I leave outstanding debts as 0? And write on the back that it was a joint account for convenience that has passed to surviving owner who has paid all costs and bills out of it? Oh please help I have such a headache with it all:(I've filled it in several times showing before bills were paid then changing to how it is now. I'm trying to avoid anything, the estate is under the tax zone any way, but I don't want ot raise queries unneccessarily.

[dzug2]

The aim is to show the position <<<as at the date of death>>>. What has happened since is almost completely irrelevant.

If you bear that in mind I think your questions mostly go away.

[oracle39]

So put it in balance of joint account prior to the bills and funeral costs being paid in 13.2 Then show whats already been paid out as debts? Does it matter that the account has passed to the surviving joint owner?

[dzug2]

Yes

Plus any debts that haven't been paid out yet

From the point of view of getting the Letters of Administration it doesn't matter what has happened to the account.

From the point of view of divvying up the estate once you have LofA - then yes, you'll need to take everything into account

[oracle39]

Many thanks. It was as I had initially thought, some times those guide lines make thinks more unclear than clearer.