Pitman, NJ Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If the money in the account is in your name, then it is not part of the estate.  Ther eis something called an "account of convenience" where someone adds a name to an account to make it more convenient to write checks.  However, if the account is solely in your name, I don't see how your mother can make a claim to it.     

She should hire a NJ estate lawyer. No, she should not be liable unless she co-signed. An estate may need to be opened. If there are insufficient assets of the husband to pay the debts, the court will discharge the claims. 

She should probably hire an attorney to help her because there may be liens or other encumbrances on property that were done without her knowledge.  for the most part, she might be able to avoid paying the charges, and have her husband's estate declared to be "insolvent" and discharge the debt of the estate in a manner similar to a bankruptcy discharge.  The ability to do that is going to depend on what assets are in the estate, what things, if any she owned jointly, and the nature of the debt.