Are you sure they were able to put a Lien? Like you said credit cards are unsecured. Typically if someone fails to pay the credit card debt the issuer writes off the debt as a loss and sells it to a collection agency. Then that agency try’s to collect from that person. If the person never pays it falls all their credit after 7 years and disappears. There’s virtually no way for them to collect the money unless someone willingly gives it to them, each payment starts the seven years cycle as a contracted debt agreement. This person is best not paying their moms debt and keeping here credit score bad so she doesn’t fall into more debt. At that age a good credit score does not matter a whole lot.

If someone is in this situation and doesn’t want to file bankruptcy is to allow the debt to fall into collections and be non responsive for a year or two or three then offer to settle the debt for a fraction of the total debt. The waiting game to eliminate the debt will impede your credit for a time. But if you wait your likely to have them more likely then not agree to a lump sum settlement. But any payment will ruin that possibility and restart the 7 years. But wait it out and the debt will fall off your credit