Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

You and your sister cannot be held legally liable for your deceased mother's debts which are the responsibility of her estate, such as it may be. (The foregoing assumes that neither you nor your sister personally guaranteed that you would be responsible for this debt in the event that your mother could not,)

Nevertheless, you should not ignore this warrant with which you've been served

and should appear at the scheduled court hearing and request that the judge have it dismissed WITH PREJUDICE.

If there was a will and it was offered for probate, or if there was not a will and a personal representative was appointed to settle the estate, the attorney's remedy is to notify the commissioner of accounts of the claim, not sue the heirs. If there was no probate and there were assets that the heirs received, it may be possible for the attorney to make a claim against the heirs. The heirs have no personal responsibility for the attorney fees, but the assets they received MAY be available if those assets exceed other claims and exemptions.

In other words, the facts of your mother's passing and her estate must be considered.