bill

i'm in nc.in 1993 my fiance and i had returned to our hometown to cont. our educ.and we moved into a home my folks own.a pipe needed to be replaced in the bathroom,so unbenounced to us his mother called the plumbers.well when we found out we really were upset(we could have done this ourselfs)she said she would pay for it.a couple of months later my fiance died in a car accident.in 1994 i got a summons for small claims.the plumbing bill!! i had never seen the bill or gave it anymore thought.his mother indulged her son while he was alive but after his passing it was obviously a differnt story.she had this bill put in my name.the judge was very nice but he said it is in your name.it never showed up on my credict until recently.i bought my dad's house a couple of months ago and applied at my bank for a loan and there it was a lien on my property!so i called and they had nothing with my name on it(i had called to get the amount i owed to pay it)i gave her name and it came up.i had them fax me a copy and it was in her name the original bill and her name was crossed out and my name put on,it is x out!!the orignal bill:$476.44 + intrests it is now $879.00.am i liable??

Sorry, but your question of "Am I liable?" can't be answered simply.

Here are the scenarios:
1) Are you liable for payment of the plumbing bill? Probably not. If you had a lease, did it say that the tenant(s) would be liable for plumbing repairs?? Probably not (or you didn't have a lease, which is the same). In the absence of that liability, the landlord would be responsible for the debt.

2) Are you liable for the 'hit' on your credit record. Again, probably not. Send the credit reporting agency (CRA) a letter detailing the circumstances of the report. At the least, they will be required to investigate the accuracy of the report. Also, your 'explanation' will be noted with the report and will go out on any credit reviews.
See the FCRA at http://www.ftc.gov

Finally, you can attack this at the court level. Assuming this was a default judgment, you can contact the original court and ask about voiding the judgment since (1) you were not served and (2) the bill had been altered and there is no proof that it was your bill. They will direct you to contact them in writing with your claims and an affidavit. Include a copy of the 'original bill' showing the redacted names. Then, hopefully the judgment will be vacated.