NCken, I also agree, best to use an Attorney to draw up the Power of Attorney. I would recommend using an Elder Law Attorney. Elder Law Attorneys are more up-to-date with Federal and State laws regarding elder rights, etc.
Any legal paperwork is not a do-it-yourself project. All it takes is one missing word or a misspelled word to create a fire storm later down the road. Plus you would miss out on certain things that are needed in a Power of Attorney.... example, if your brother owns a house, the full address of said house needs to be placed in the Power of Attorney.
The Elder Law Attorney may recommend other legal documents, such as a Living Will or Medical Directive. I used an Elder Law Attorney, and I have a 3-ring binder filled with all sorts of forms given to me by the firm. Heavens, my POA is over 10 pages long.
Your profile says brother has Dementia. This will cause a problem if its advanced. He has to understand what he is doing and how it will effect him. He has to be able to assign you and sign off on it. If he can't do this, then u file for guardianship which is expensive. With both you can use his money.
If you get a POA, like Alva said, get an attorney to draw it up.
There is always a lot of controversy when you ask if you need a lawyer. People will say that you can get forms on line, and you CAN, or in books and you CAN. And have them notarized and witnessed of whatever. So that much is true. My OWN advice therefore is just my OWN advice to be taken with a grain of salt. I had to do this for my brother and I needed to be made both POA and Trustee of his Trust. It was an amazingly thorough document drawn up by his Lawyer who visited with him to ascertain his mental status and ability to create it. I still remember him saying "Dee, this gives your sister the right to the gold in your teeth; are you aware of that". My bro had been diagnosed with probable early Lewy's Dementia. We were trying to make everything safe and we DID and I still remember the banks and how careful they were, how they told me I could do this or that dependent on the language in the document. Did I pay? Yes, I did. I was the one who paid, also, as he had had an accident (how the diagnosis was suggested as an incidental finding). The Lawyer had to do this with a Trust, so needed the document. And to do a POA. And to do two visits to my bro, one in hospital and one in rehab; interview me, him, and us together. It was about 4,000 in all. I think for a simple POA it would not cost half that but a call to Lawyers would answer that question. I was never so glad to have a solid document in my hands in all my life during the course of the next year in which I was a complete anxious learning curve. You will find that cost ranges vary enormously dependent on where you live. Wishing you good luck for certain. You will get widely varying answers on this one.
Any legal paperwork is not a do-it-yourself project. All it takes is one missing word or a misspelled word to create a fire storm later down the road. Plus you would miss out on certain things that are needed in a Power of Attorney.... example, if your brother owns a house, the full address of said house needs to be placed in the Power of Attorney.
The Elder Law Attorney may recommend other legal documents, such as a Living Will or Medical Directive. I used an Elder Law Attorney, and I have a 3-ring binder filled with all sorts of forms given to me by the firm. Heavens, my POA is over 10 pages long.
If you get a POA, like Alva said, get an attorney to draw it up.
Did I pay? Yes, I did. I was the one who paid, also, as he had had an accident (how the diagnosis was suggested as an incidental finding). The Lawyer had to do this with a Trust, so needed the document. And to do a POA. And to do two visits to my bro, one in hospital and one in rehab; interview me, him, and us together. It was about 4,000 in all. I think for a simple POA it would not cost half that but a call to Lawyers would answer that question. I was never so glad to have a solid document in my hands in all my life during the course of the next year in which I was a complete anxious learning curve.
You will find that cost ranges vary enormously dependent on where you live.
Wishing you good luck for certain. You will get widely varying answers on this one.