Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Not showing up to Court really hurts in many ways, becasue it is viewed as a waiver of many rights.

Of course I think you understand that you POST teh $6000 as a BOND. So when you appeal, if you win, you get the money back.

(this gets complicated if you appeal together with your Mom, becuase she apparently DOES owe the money. So if you appeal together with her, she will lose, and they will take your $6000. So you need to appeal SEPARATELY on your own from her.)

This is really not an "appeal" but a whole new trial. You get a new trial as if the first trial never happened. So it is the best way to handle this, if you can somehow put $6000 on deposit.

Of course, since your mother apparently does owe the money, the best thing for you would be if she paid the money and then there woudl be no problem for you.

However, you might try filing a motion for reconsideration or a motion to vacate the judgment.

Unless you have a very good reason why you did not go to court the last time, this might be difficult.

But if you can show that it is not your signature, then the judgment would be called "void" and could be vacated or set side.

The trouble with that is that the last court hearing was the perfect time for the court to hear that. So you will want to show why you did not go to court the first time.