This is just so horrifying and upsetting... My brother has recently announced that my mother will be moving in with him. So far, so good. She is not coping on her own and has a real bee in her bonnet that my brother will 'look after' her better than me because nothing I do is right for her. He has been secretive and evasive about the detail but I now know he is taking the majority of the money from the sale of her house, using it to buy himself and his family a large house with the majority of it funded with my mother's money, and arranging the property splits so that she has only an equal one third share with him and his wife. That's bad enough... what if she wants to move out? At least half of her money will then not be in her name any more? Also upsetting, he is putting in place a declaration of trust which specifies that if any of them die, the deceased's share goes to the other two owners. Nothing left for my mother's Will, which has always said that my brother and I share the estate between us. Basically, he has seen an opportunity. He's been wanting a big house like this for ages because has been renting for years, although he owns various other properties.

When I challenge him he says "well, there has to be something in it for me or why would I do it?". Charming. I am afraid he will have her living with him (in her house) for a year and then move her to a home. He has kept enough money aside that, with her monthly pension, she could be funded for about eight years without anyone coming after the money in "his" house. He is not a nice man. She is overawed by him. He frankly bullies me. He is exploiting her.

My mother agreed to let me appoint a solicitor for her so he could see if she had capacity to consent and see whether my brother was acting in her best interests, but my brother phoned her at the last minute, panicked her into not going (she is terrified he won't go through with it if she makes the slightest peep, he is very loud and overbearing) and then he physically took her away in his car so she couldn't attend the appointment.

I am sure she doesn't have mental capacity in relation to numbers and is totally unable to understand the detail. She signs whatever he puts in front of her. I think she might understand that he keeps the house after she dies (not sure) and is so desperate for him to do this for her (I don't think it's going to be nearly as lovely as she hopes) that she will agree to anything without understanding her choices or the implications. She is thinking, saying and doing things she would never have done three or so years ago. I feel he is using that vulnerability to take an opportunity for himself.

I wouldn't be surprised if his wife reads this. She will know it is about them.

What can I do to protect my mother's interests? She surely needs an exit plan if it doesn't work out? She surely should have the long term intentions expressed in her Will protected, whatever she has been coerced into saying now. I also worry that he should ideally have some sort of financial incentive for looking after her longer, say a kind of sliding scale of house ownership depending on how long it goes on for, seeing as money is a big driver for him and he's shown precious little interest in looking after her up until now. We have a financial LPA that names me as an attorney. It specifies joint and several decision making and - obviously - this sort of thing should be "joint" but how can I make him? Will the OPG act? My mother, bless her, agrees he is controlling and keen on money but she thinks she can "get round him" when everything is settled and change things but she totally doesn't appreciate that can't and won't happen.

My father would be so upset. He died last year.

I am in contact with the OPG about safeguarding and I have also informed all the solicitors involved that there is a mental incapacity concern. I would organise a mental capacity assessment for her myself but I am not allowed to see her now. I don't know where she is or when she will be back home.

Does anyone have any ideas? Surely a conference meeting to look at ALL her needs and wishes would shame my brother into being more reasonable. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? How would I make it happen? How do people feel? Do you judge it right that my brother should have so much control, without supervision, when he has shown himself to be so tactical about it? Should he look after her in a house bought with her money and - in return - own it outright when she's gone? God knows, I hope she has another happy ten years but she has cardiovascular disease so nobody knows what will happen.

Straw poll? Sorry for the rant and brain dump. I'm reading back through and just don't know what to cut. Here it all is.