Your Adult Son Refuses Treatment? Florida Families Can Ask a Court for Help

If your adult son won’t go to rehab in Florida, you may feel you have run out of moves. Years of paying for treatment, trying interventions, and setting boundaries may not have changed much.

Florida’s Marchman Act lets a family member ask a court to order an assessment and, if the legal criteria are met, treatment. This page explains how that route works, what a petition can and cannot do, and when guardianship may come up instead.

Your Adult Son Is Refusing Help and You Are Running Out of Options

A Florida court can order an adult into assessment and treatment when a qualifying family member files a Marchman Act petition and the legal standard is met.

You may be afraid he will overdose and not wake up. You may fear he will be jailed, or that he will end up sleeping on the street. Many parents also feel hope slipping away.

Those fears are real, and they are the reason this route exists. A petition can’t make anyone well. It puts the question of treatment in front of a judge, with the facts on the record. If he was recently hospitalized, arrested, or has disappeared, those facts matter. Dates and details shape what a judge sees.

What the Marchman Act Is and Who Can File

The Marchman Act is Florida’s law for court-ordered assessment and treatment of substance abuse impairment. Section 397.681 of the Florida Statutes gives the courts jurisdiction over involuntary treatment petitions for substance abuse impaired persons, and the clerk of the court may not charge a fee for filing such a petition.

The petition is filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the person is located. The clerk may not charge a fee to file it (§ 397.681).

For an adult, a petition may be filed by a spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult with direct personal knowledge of the impairment and prior treatment (§ 397.68112). A parent is a relative, so a parent can file. Your son is the respondent, the person named in the petition.

The statute sets the test. He must also be in need of services and be so impaired in judgment that he cannot appreciate that need or make a rational decision about it, or, without care, be likely to neglect himself in a way that poses a real and present threat of substantial harm that cannot be avoided through willing family members, friends, or other services, or there is a substantial likelihood he has inflicted, threatened, or attempted physical harm on himself or another (§ 397.675). Refusing services alone is not enough.

What a Marchman Act Petition Covers and What the Law Cannot Do

A petition must name the people involved and state the facts behind the request. It must include:

• Your son’s name, your name, and how you are related
• His attorney’s name, if known
• Why you believe he is substance abuse impaired
• Why you believe he has lost the power of self-control about substance use
• Either a reason to believe he has inflicted or is likely to inflict physical harm on himself or others unless the court orders services, or a reason to believe his refusal of care is based on judgment so impaired by substance abuse that he is incapable of appreciating his need for care and of making a rational decision about that need (§ 397.68141)

The petition may include a report from a qualified professional who examined him within 30 days before filing. If he was never assessed, or refused, the petition must say so.

In an emergency, the petition must describe the emergency. The court may then enter an ex parte assessment and stabilization order based on the petition alone, without appointing an attorney (§ 397.6818). A provider generally may not hold him more than 72 hours of observation unless specific exceptions apply.

A thin petition can fail.

The court decides whether the criteria are met and what any order requires. The court may order involuntary treatment services for a period not to exceed 90 days, and it retains jurisdiction over the case and the parties to monitor compliance with treatment (§ 397.697). The law does not cure addiction. Treatment results vary with the person and the program, and no one can promise an outcome.

How the Process Works: Steps and Timeline

A case moves from consultation to filing, then to a hearing and an order.

1. Consultation. You walk through the facts. A lawyer reviews whether a Marchman Act petition fits or another court route is a better match.
2. Records. You gather dated notes on overdoses, hospital or ER visits, arrests, missed contact, and past treatment. Note who saw each event.
3. Filing. The petition goes to the clerk in the county where your son is located. In J.P. v. J.N., the court explained that filing the petition in the wrong county did not divest the circuit court in Putnam County of jurisdiction.
4. Counsel and hearing. Your son has the right to counsel at every stage, though he may waive that right if he is present and the court finds the waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily (§ 397.681). The court must schedule a hearing within 10 court working days unless it grants a continuance (§ 397.68151).
5. Testimony. Testimony in the hearing must be taken under oath, and the proceedings must be recorded. The respondent may refuse to testify at the hearing. Treatment generally requires a clinical assessment first (§ 397.6957).
6. Order. If the court finds the conditions proven by clear and convincing evidence, it may order treatment for up to 90 days.

Timing depends on the facts and the county. The firm can walk you through the likely stages where your son is located.

Before You Talk to Your Son: Approaches That Tend to Shut the Conversation Down

Ultimatums and old arguments often end a talk before it starts.

• Skip threats you won’t carry out. A deadline you won’t enforce costs you trust.
• Choose a calm moment. Talks while he is intoxicated rarely go well.
• Decide the purpose first. Pick one goal, such as his safety or one specific next step, instead of winning every point.
• Keep a written record. Note dates, what happened, who saw it, and what you tried. These details line up with what a petition must allege.
• Separate family talks from the legal step. You don’t need to settle every family question before getting legal advice.
• A person who knowingly makes a false written declaration signed under penalties of perjury commits perjury by false written declaration, a third-degree felony (§ 92.525).

When Guardianship May Be the Right Legal Tool

Guardianship is a separate court route. A judge may appoint a decision-maker for an adult who cannot manage personal or financial needs, but only after finding, on clear and convincing evidence, that the adult is incapacitated, and only for the rights the court finds the adult cannot exercise.

Emergency temporary guardianship is available only after a petition for determination of incapacity is filed. The court must find imminent danger that the person’s physical or mental health or safety will be seriously impaired, or that the person’s property is in danger of being wasted, misappropriated, or lost, unless immediate action is taken (§ 744.3031). That authority expires after 90 days or when a guardian is appointed, and it can be extended for another 90 days if the emergency continues. Each member of the examining committee must file a report with the clerk of the court within 15 days after appointment (§ 744.331).

Other types work differently. Limited guardianship covers only the rights the court names.

A Marchman Act petition and a guardianship case are different tools. Which one fits turns on your son’s situation. If a matter may be referred to another lawyer or firm, the firm will say so.

Why Families Work With Robinson Casey

Robinson Casey limits its practice to Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. The firm serves families across South Florida, including Miami-Dade County, and statewide.

• Responsible lawyer. Richard J. Casey III, Esq., is the responsible lawyer for this page.
• Focus. Our lawyers focus on Marchman Act petitions and the guardianship matters described here.
• Support. Our team includes assistants and office staff who help families keep records, notices, and deadlines in order.
• First step. The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Frequently Asked Questions