My brother lives in the Florida Panhandle and had a medical incident that required hospitalization. He is now in a facility, but his goal has always been to go home. My plan was to move to Florida and be his caregiver. We set up Powers of Attorney for a neighbor and me, but I am gradually being taken out of the loop. The neighbor has taken over my brother’s finances and managing his health care. He and his wife got my brother into a very nice facility and he is being well cared for, but the plan was for that to be temporary. My brother now has mild dementia, but is quite conversational, reads, enjoys going out, etc. He was ruled a fall risk when first hospitalized, but easily gets up and down from chairs and can walk independently, though tires easily. The neighbor and his wife are trying to put a wedge between my brother and me, even trying to convince him I have poor mental health and can’t make good decisions for him. They’ve even suggested taking Power of Attorney over me! They have only known me for a few months; nobody in my life has ever suggested that I need help in making decisions. There are many other things that make me suspicious of their motives. I know I need a good attorney, but since I don’t live in that area (yet), I don’t know how to find a good fit for this situation. I should add that three times in the past month, I have called the office of the lawyer who drew up the Power of Attorney and have not received a call back.
No one can put put your brother in memory care without his permission if he is still competent to make his own decisions. This means a number of people, the facility admissions director, a doctor, and whoever the facility uses to evaluate the needs of residents all agreed his dementia has progressed too far for him to go home alone. Your long distance assessment of his dementia level doesn't mean anything. Him being "quite conversational, reads, enjoys going out, etc." doesn't mean he's not at home setting the microwave on fire and letting bills accumulate unpaid on the counter for years.
You should definitely advocate for your brother and make sure he's not being taken advantage of financially. The neighbors are required to keep good records of brother's finances and bills, but if they are the primary POA and you're the backup they are also required to respect his privacy. Is this why you don't have any proof of what you think they are doing?
What do his doctors say about why he's in the facility, and why they agreed that was the best choice for him? If you have POA you should be talking with them. Is that happening? I think you need to hold off on making judgements about the situation until you go there in person and talk with the facility about why he's there, with the doctor about why they approved it.
You should go there in person and have a good conversation with the other PoA (which your brother voluntarily assigned). Don't be adversarial with them until you know all the facts.
Have the conditions for activating the POA even been met? Some go into effect when signed. However others (probably most) require something like one or two doctors signing a statement that the person has a diagnosis and is not competent to make decisions. If the requirements for activation haven't been met, it's possible that the neighbors will say that they are just helping your brother, with his cooperation. Might that be the case?
If the POA has not been activated, then the lawyer is still representing your brother and won't be able to talk with you unless your brother instructs him or her to.
May I ask, do you actually WANT to move to Florida and be your brother's caregiver? Since he's in a nice facility, would it be better to let him stay there, while you continue to live your own life where you are? You could still stay involved with the decisions, without having to uproot your own life. Is being a hands-on caregiver something you want to give up what you have now for who knows how long, and not knowing how your brother might decline, needing more and more help? What about your own possible future health needs?