Guardianship: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) 

"Two doctors told me if I drink Dr Pepper I would die, but they died first." That first old lady was a gangster lol

It's okay, I did some research and apparently April Parks was sentenced to 16-40 years in prison last November. I'm hoping she gets the full 40.

How is it legally possible for a stranger to petition to become a guardian? Wait, how is it even legally possible to be under guardianship without a) proving the person is legally incompetent, b) notice to person subject of the petition? Also, how can judges not be lawyers?? I am perplexed by the U.S. legal system.

Lesson to be learned: *Pay attention to your elderly family members. Check up on them. Make sure nothing is amiss.* *And you know best case scenario everything's fine and they'll appreciate you stopping by.*

Britney Spears is a perfect example of guardianship abuse.

Who's here after watching that new Netflix movie "I Care A Lot."

That April Parks woman is a monster.

That old Dr. Pepper woman in the beginning isn't that uncommon, most of the old people I've met who have talked about outliving their doctors usually have an oddly giddy tone doing so. I think they're just so smug about proving those doctors wrong in the absolutely best, if a bit sadistic, way.

I'm surprised John Oliver didn't show any of the video footage of the judge granting April Parks guardianship over people - the court system enables the abuse of guardianships. The judge didn't even seem to look at any of the info or ask any questions - he was so used to seeing April Parks in court he'd make jokes with her and ask how she was. When people came to him and complained that she or other guardians were mistreating them or that they didn't need guardians, he brushed it off. His name is Jon Norheim, and since April Parks was arrested, he was re-assigned to dealing with cases of abused and neglected children. :-( I recommend everyone read the article "How The Elderly Lose Their Rights" in the New Yorker magazine.

My aunt stole my grandmother's house and property from my mom and my inheritance when my grandmother died. Sometimes it's not strangers it's your own family.

I know this is about elderly folks but this is incredibly applicable to Britney's guardianship situation too

Same thing as in "I Care A Lot" a stranger showed up at my apartment door in MANHATTAN NY, "somehow" got past doorman, and pushed into my apartment with a "Warrant" for my elderly mother, from NJ! who was living with me after Hurricane Sandy. Said she was my mother's court lawyer/Guardian. Her name - Sylvia DiPxxx; a "professional" "Guardian" dead ringer for Rosamund Pike in "I Care a Lot". Had to call the NYPD to have her removed. I put her coat and bags on the elevator, told her that her things were going down to the lobby. She did not budge from my mother's side until the cops came and made her leave. But first she called the corrupt Manhattan Supreme Court judge who is part of the Guardianship Industry in NY. It's a hell on earth.

My stepdad was declared incompetent after a cardiac arrest left him with an anoxic brain injury. At the time he and my mom werent married but had been living together for years. His kids stuffed him away in an out of state place called QLI in Nebraska. It was HELL for him. He had memory issues but was functional as a person. We pleaded for a court appointed attourney to oversee his guardianship bc my mom was labeled a gold digger and was not allowed to. He had four of them over the course of three years of absolute hell on earth. My mom lived with my stepdad in a nursing home for over a year before they receieved the right to rent a house and receive therapy for his brain. He has lost lots of money, his stocks werent cared for, his children stole all of his stuff including cars, he lost two insurance policies that were paid in full because they lapsed on yearly fees and his credit was destroyed bc his guardians never paid any of the bills from his cardiac arrest onward. He finally gained his rights back. He was never allowed to represent himself (he is a lawyer) and the judge refused to speak to him. When finally asked by a doctor at the last hearing why the judge was so hesitant to give him back his rights to autonomy even with written letters from six different doctors, the judge said it was because she had never done it before and didnt know how.... all that time his life was stolen from him bc she didnt know how to undo the paperwork.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens to disabled adults against their will, too. Once some of us are 18, our parents take away our freedom and independence. I am glad my parents never did that to me, but I have two friends whose parents forced guardianship over them because of their disabilities instead of helping them find proper work that can help them support themselves, or help them get some more education and skills. It's awful. I am autistic, but I go to the university to pursue a STEM degree, and I work. Sadly, my friends' parents won't let them have that freedom. One of my friends was even taken advantage of at some shady place called Job Corps. At first I thought it was good for them, the Job Corps, but it seems like they don't know how to accommodate for people with different needs.

Just watched 'I Care A Lot' on Netflix. Now I see where the idea came from.

my mother and I are guardians of my uncle. he is in his 70s and can be confused and talked into doing stuff that is not the smartest things. It works for us because he can not legally sign for anything. He had a high pressure salesman come by and sell him siding for his house and when they came for payment after it was installed I was there with the legal paperwork that said any agreement he made is null and void if my mother or I did not sign off on it. they got pissed but my uncle did not pay and we kicked them off his property. my uncle is a amazing guy and my goal is for him to spend all his money before he dies haveing the best time in his life. The people who live around him love him and when anyone comes around they protect him and call us up to come down if needed.

John, can you apply as a guardian of Donald Trump?

OMG that Neil deGrasse Tyson joke was f******* great. Thank you for uploading to RU-vid sorry I still can't afford HBO

Who’s here after watching I Care A Lot? That movie is scarily accurate.

I work at an assisted living facility and this is something that we have an entire orientation on looking out for. If there are any situations where someone is being taken advantage of or if we think someone is being taken advantage of, we have a whole legal team and such to take care of the seniors and to make sure that any abuse ceases immediately.

"You have less rights than being in prison" Getting old is dangerous in the U.S.

Let's see, get enough sleep for a 6am shift tomorrow or watch John Oliver..... *I can sleep when I'm dead.*

April parks was sentenced to 16-40 years in prison in January this year if anyone is interested

How on earth can you have a system where you can be a judge without having any legal training?

Oliver tries to joke with Neil. *Joke reverses*

I just wanted to watch a comedy show and go to sleep but now I'm sad with Johnny JoyKiller 😂😂😂😂

Anyone Else Here After Britney Spears' Testimony About How She's Been Mistreated In Her Conservatorship?

As a social worker, I can confirm full guardianship should be a last resort. Getting a healthcare agent, representative payer, and attorney-in-fact would ensure your wishes are complied with. Fun fact: if someone says they are Power of Attorney, they actually mean they're the attorney-in-fact. Power of Attorney is the name of the legal document listing the AIF and their responsibilities. No one is actually a piece of paper, unless you identify as such.

Johnny joykiller back at it again with the silver tsunami jokes.

I was my grandmothers guardian for the last three years of her life, I am so glad I had that time with her. She was the one who raised me, and I got to return the favor.

*Guardianship is supposed to mean: "When one Voluntarily allows others to make decisions for oneself," (somewhat like power of attorney through a living will) but too often the guardianship is forced upon people against their will and they are unable to have it revoked.*

i legit thought this was gonna be about orphans

John Oliver Delivers The Goods......EVERY DAMN TIME

After watching Netflix's Dirty Money S2E5 "Guardians Inc." I came here to watch John Oliver again. Protect our elderly; protect ourselves.

My mum was appointed a guardian. My dad did her bills and such, but the *public* guardian who acted as a public official, meaning under much stronger accountability rules in case of negligence or embezzlement, checked his accounting and any billings that looked "off" for her. *_Nobody_** was paid a penny for this!* This was naturally in Europe, where people are civilised and education is still appreciated, so all judges are _professional lawyers!_

Johnny Joy-Killer is still my favorite Johnny of the world. 😍😂

Wow the two weeks waiting for this felt like a lifetime

John Oliver: No tall foxes Manned Wolves: *exist*

Me: laughs at 'i just want to watch a comedy show and go to sleep but now I'm sad with Johnny Joy-kill Also me: watching this at 2 am wanting to get in a good laugh before I go to sleep

I cannot condone advising the elderly to entrust their golden dementia years to a man who talks to volleyballs and obsesses over chocolate-related philosophical metaphors. That's why I am signing over my estate to the hippos.

As a caregiver, most guardianship business I've worked with have left a bad taste in my mouth. For one woman we had to ask for money to buy a client food throughout the week. She'd get around to it when she wanted to, as her food dwindled down to a cheese snack, can of soup and two TV dinners that she was allergic to. Another friend fights tooth and nail to keep guardianship for her mentally and physically disabled daughter EVERY YEAR, and the state puts her through the wringer. It ridiculous

My mother was literally stolen from by the court appointed attorney and the opposing attorney with the guardian just showing up in court stating HE would do it for free! HE by the way worked for protective services . I wasn't charging ! I was her daughter when my mother asked that I be her guardian it was ignored by the Okeechobee court judge and everything she owned was sold by this "guardian" and the judge just let it happen. My mother's house, car, clothes and all her belongings are gone...……... sold .I had to buy her clothes! my 2 siblings stole a truck load of stuff, then the guardian and the 2 lawyers and the judge took one million dollars + in FLORIDA from this woman.It appears to be a very well polished operation, since she could afford her own lawyer, This guardian moved her from one nursing home a Medicaid nursing home, that charged $6000. a month at least, for 8 years depleting her trust fund to another nursing home just recently .At the Medicaid $6000.a month place , I Had to get a lawyer to fight for her just to get her ears cleaned out as she was going deaf from wax build up. Their administrator fought me on this, plus the court deemed her incompetent in order to get full control for this "free" guardian over her rights and assets. It is my belief this guardian and these court manipulations killed my mother via negligence, ignorance and a pathology that is sweeping through Florida and all over the USA. Predatory guardians, all seem to appear on the outside as good citizens. My mother was able to be released to go home just a few months after being rehabilitated, at the 1st nursing home, but the guardian and her court appointed lawyer kept her in that nursing home for 8 years selling off her assets and stealing the rest of her life.

Anyone else watching this after catching "I Care A Lot" on Netflix?

There was a great article about this in the New Yorker. Really disturbing. The daughter of a couple taken into guardianship couldn't do anything - the so-called guardian took control over their finances and forced them to live in a home and had the legal right to do so. It's called "How The Elderly Lose Their Rights" - worth reading.

Dr. pepper from now on

Who is here watching this video in 2020 because a certain blonde popstar, struggling with a range of issues, is under the dark cloud of her *conservatorship*!? I wonder if #johnoliver #lastweektonight is going to update this video with more current information.

The Dr Pepper woman was hilarious🤣

But who were the judges who signed the guardianship? Did they get anything out of it? They should've been held accountable, too.

That’s John Oliver for you, raising awareness of issues that not many people know about

do a video of child protective services.

I now point people to this episode when they watch the movie, "I Care a Lot" and think the plot is too crazy to be real...This episode and the comment below from 'Tony Stark' were undoubtedly the inspiration for the film...

I laughed so hard at that feckless --- joke that I woke up my whole family 😂😂😂

Great appearances by Neil deGrasse Tyson and some of my favorite senior actors! Thanks for sharing!

Haha, I imagine there is a very confused Tom Hanks somewhere wondering why all these people are entrusting him as a guardian XD

This was really interesting especially since my parents have guardianship over my twin brother since he's severely autistic. It makes me thankful that Iain is under the supervision of someone we know and trust and not some random person.

Wait what? A farmer can be judge in Texas? What the hell was I thinking all these 25 years of studying?!!

As usual, John Oliver brings long-overdue attention to a little-known but very important topic. Bravo.

1.5k guardians disliked this video

I came here after watching "I Care A Lot" on Netflix.

Holy balls, I had no idea that Mercury's sunrise-to-sunrise time was longer than it's rotation time. Took a bit of googling to get my head around that, but now I now that Mercury sometimes has two sunrises in a single day! COOOOOL!!

John Oliver can be my guardian

Watching this in 2020 John Oliver: "rebrand it as an open-air exotic meat market" That did not age well

The lady at the beginning genuinely looks healthier and younger than my grandma wtf

[Long comment alert] Hi, im a guardian of my father here in Maryland. My case is a little unique because I'm a successor guardian, meaning i came after someone else [my aunt]. It wasn't an easy thing either, after she neglected him for almost a year and stole 20,000 dollars I took her to court and forced her to leave. This process really showed me how broken the system was, with me presenting evidence such as faked bank statements, transaction histories showing the illegal moving of money, court ordered forms she submitted almost a year late and even the state law stating plainly she should be removed for just one of the many actions I showed her to be involved in the court was apathetic. Alls my aunt had to say was that she thought i was a brat or dishonest and naive [being only 20] and my whole position was eroded. It was a sickening thing to watch. In the end I won howeber and my father has been thriving ever since. Long story short; guardians have unbelievable power and insane amounts of leniency to a judge. The laws [here in MD] are from 1930 and working in its system broke my faith in the courts. 10/10 would become successor again.

Every single on of these episodes is funny, but they also come with a realisation that there is a big country in the world where all these problems are possible and very real. What the hell, US? "Local judges - who have no legal training"? ... WTF

I love this episode but it only focussed on the elderly. My parents have attempted to get guardianship over me because I have Aspburgers and while they got laughed at. They were doing so(From what I know about them with no evidence so can't go to court) To control my healthcare and keep me from transitioning

"Two doctors have told me if I drink it I will die, but they died first!" What a legend!

The more general effects of so many judges not even having a law degree seems like another episode waiting to happen.

that ending needed some betty white

I was given over to a legal guardian at six years old in Ohio and suffered a lot of abuse at this person's hands. In addition to physical and verbal abuse I was forced to work jobs and he took all of the money. I have never understood how this person was able to do this and get away with it. After watching this episode, I now have a better understanding of what happened to me in my childhood. Thank you John Oliver. I ran away after turning seventeen and dropped out of high school. This was the beginning of my adulthood. I've had mental illness and addiction problems. If anybody out there reads this and knows of any legal referral help I would love some. I would love to know if the state of Ohio is at all financially responsible for allowing this to happen to me

This is what britney spears is going through right now.

When did his hair get so gray? Trump's really putting the stress on everyone's favorite bird fact funny man.

This is very painful, not for said content...but because we have to hear it from a comedy show.

Came back to this video after watching "I Care A Lot" on Netflix.

Rest in peace, Fred. You were awesome.

Why, WHY, is US system and law such a provider for conmen?

Sadly, this isn't a problem only in the USA. I live in Germany, when my grandmother got dementia, she got an appointed guardian by a court, too. Just because my mother (her only child, her husband (my grandfather) died a few years earlier) lives 250 km (that's roughly 1,5 hours drive) away, and the judge meant that this is too far/long "in a time of need" (like telephones weren't invented). Anyways: one sad day my grandmother passed away (we heard that by the elderly facility she lived in, not by the "guardian"), and a few days later we learned that she didn't had enough money left to pay for the funeral. We wondered, because even if she wasn't wealthy, together with some "contribution limits" (don't know if that's the right term, there's a certain amount of money you are allowed to keep even if things get really rough) it certainly should have covered the funeral. So, only after her death we as a family were allowed to see the documents, receipts, bills of the "guardian" etc. because _now_ we were the inheritors and that stuff actually _belonged_ to us now. Prior to the death of my grandmother, we as a family had no right to see anything of it, because the "guardian" decided, that my grandmother didn't wish to share that with us. Yeah, right ... but legally nothing you could do about it. Let me tell you, there were some strange things in it, but only small things. Things that the court won't dig into. 1000 € like mentioned in the video? They certainly would have. 10x 100 €? Nope, not worth the effort. Even aftershave for men ... and chocolate, so much chocolate (my grandmother hated it, we only gave her vanilla based sweets when we visited her), but the guardian replied "that must have been gifts to other people in the elderly facility". Apparently my grandmother was so into giving, she completly forgot her own child + grandchildren (we never got anything when we were there), at least that's what the "guardian" apparently wanted us to believe. We thought about going to court, but in the end didn't. Not because of money, and we do know that when no-one steps in those people can continue like nothing happened, but it was too much psychological stress for my mother dealing with that "guardian" and everything attached to it. DISCLAIMER: every time I talk about money in that story, KEEP IN MIND we weren't after money at all. Those were merely hints to us that something didn't add up, things you only think of when the story the "guardian" presented felt like "bullshit". We didn't want a big inheritance nor gifts from her when we visited her, we just loved her and it was very hard, seeing her struggling with the dementia. We knew she couldn't have much because of that, so money was never a thing as long as she lived.

The exotic meat market joke didn’t age well...

Awww, Fred Willard.

As a court appointed guardian for a person with special needs, I can tell you from my own observations that the system for appointing and overseeing guardianships has been messed up for years and a lot of people have been hurt. Judges can be real idiots sometimes and often indifferent. The system is often overseen by local judges and many pass the clients to their legal friends and family to oversee and outcome isn't at all good.

The timing of this piece could not be more perfect. I'm helping my grandmother fix everything after her guardian stole thousands of dollars and ended up getting arrested. The most screwed up thing is it was someone in our family we thought we could trust. Seriously only allow the people you trust most in the entire world to have such a position of power over you.

savage old lady at 0:20 is like my own great grandma, who ate two to three bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch daily and lived til she was ninety four.

This is great! Thank you for putting it together. Please do another segment about the abusive courts who are openly violating the disabled and elderly in their quest to put them under guardianship. Denton County Probate Court in Texas would be the first one I'd recommend being investigated! Judge King calming stating protected persons have less rights than prisoners is exactly how Texas Judges are acting. This is a gross violation of their rights... and Judge King... well why is this man a judge? How can he preside over cases without bias when he's already showing bias and a blatant disregard for our Constitution?

So who's Trump's guardian?? Cuz we need them to step in right about two years ago.

Thanks for raising my awareness. I had no idea that this was even a thing. I thought this episode was going to be about the adoption system.

Fun fact, this first came out right as I started my first job as an attorney and I recently started working for a nonprofit that focuses on guardianship cases. We are funded by the state of NY and do a lot of great work, but because of all the people taken advantage of by both people like this April person and family members, it's easy to understand some of the reservations people have toward guardianship as a whole! I love the work I do but it can be a very tough one for many reasons, and I am fortunate enough that I avoid a lot of the hardships our case managers face!

But that's why I like hippos. They look so cute and fluffy but they can easily snap your neck or rip out your small intestine.

Wait wait wait WAIT!!! Someone can become a city judge without being a lawyer? Who the f*ck thought this was a good idea?

This is one of the best segments I've ever seen on this show.

Rudys story literally sounds like a horror film

My local paper, The Albuquerque Journal, ran a week long piece called "Who's Guarding the Guardians?" about the systemic problems in the state of New Mexico. It's so secretive and there's no appeal or recourse. Terrifying!!!

They better call Saul.

By the way April Parks is behind bars now.

this hits different after watching "I care a lot"

As a Croatian and a basketball fan, I approve of the Dragan Bender joke 👏👍😆

Its 3 AM and I'm still awake for this.........your doing something right John

As much as I love laughing at Trump and that whole ordeal, I really like these episodes exploring topics I hardly knew about before. Sips on my Diet Dr. Pepper*

Who is here after watching "I care a lot" on Netflix? This happens for real! I'm so beyond pissed!

*This is literally what happened to Britney Spears in 2008.*

Last week tonight: The most depressing comedy on television.