Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

Putting her name on your checking account was a mistake. Get it off there. If you want to pay her bills with her money, then get her to give you power of attorney. Have her get a separate checking account and you can be added to her checking account if you wish. Any money in your mother's account would generally pass to you if you are on there. You might have to use her funds for any funeral bills or other priority claims if there are insufficient assets in her estate whenever she passes.

You are not legally responsible for her debts. Another nice thing about the power of attorney is that with it, you can leave your mother to battle her cancer and you can start writing to all of the creditors and explain that (a) you are the power of attorney and (b) to direct all correspondence to you. Depending on what your mother owns, it may be that she has little resources in which case you can tell the credit card companies that your mother is ill with cancer and that there are no assets. It will be difficult without the power of attorney as the creditors will not deal with you personally unless your mother is there to authorize them to speak with you.