Does the Marchman Act Cost Money in Florida?

Short answer: yes, a Marchman Act case can carry costs

Does the Marchman Act cost money in Florida? Yes, it can. The clerk may not charge a fee to file the petition, but service, legal help and treatment can each cost money.

If you are reading this, you may have spent years paying for treatment, crisis calls and interventions. Then a recent overdose, hospital stay or arrest pushed you to look for a legal path. Money is one more worry on a heavy list, and it’s fair to ask about it early.

This page breaks the cost picture into three parts: court filing and service, attorney fees, and treatment after a court order. Each part works differently, so we take them one at a time. Knowing the costs ahead of time helps you plan, so you aren’t surprised while your attention belongs with your child.

The three cost categories families encounter

Costs in a Marchman Act case fall into three groups. Keep them separate, because each one is paid in a different way.

The first group is court-level cost. This includes filing the petition and having the respondent formally served with notice. The second group is attorney fees. Legal help is its own expense and is separate from anything the court charges. The third group is treatment. Treatment that follows a court order has its own billing rules, and those rules depend on how the provider is funded.

Not every cost is paid up front. Some depend on who files the petition, whether the court orders treatment, and what kind of provider the person enters. A cost that comes later can feel like a surprise if you don’t know it’s coming.

Think of this section as a map. The sections below explain each part in plain terms.

Court filing and service costs

Filing a petition does not come with a clerk’s fee. Florida law says the clerk of the court may not charge a fee for filing a Marchman Act petition, and the petition goes to the clerk in the county where the person is located (Fla. Stat. § 397.681).

Service is a different matter. After a petition is filed, the clerk issues a summons. Unless a circuit court’s chief judge authorizes disinterested private process servers, the clerk electronically submits the summons to a law enforcement agency within 6 hours after it is issued so the person can be served (Fla. Stat. § 397.68151).

Service of process fees can apply. The court may prohibit them, or a law enforcement agency may waive them, if the petitioner is determined to be indigent (Fla. Stat. § 397.68112).

The court must also schedule a hearing within 10 court working days unless a continuance is granted. These are court-level charges and steps. They are separate from any lawyer’s fee, and you should ask about each one before you start.

Attorney fees and the free first consultation

Legal help is a separate cost from court charges. A respondent has the right to counsel at every stage of the case, unless the respondent waives that right while present and the court finds the waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. A respondent who desires counsel and cannot afford private counsel has the right to court-appointed counsel (Fla. Stat. § 397.681). Under Fla. Stat. § 397.681(2), a respondent has the right to counsel at every stage of a judicial proceeding relating to a petition for involuntary treatment for substance abuse impairment, unless the respondent waives that right while present and the court finds the waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily.

Robinson Casey offers a free first consultation (consulta inicial gratuita, confidencial y sin compromiso). The consultation is confidential, and there is no obligation to continue.

Come to that conversation ready with questions. Ask what the fee covers, including hearings and filings. Ask what costs fall outside the fee. Ask how billing works and when payment is due.

Ask who pays the lawyer, too. A lawyer representing the person named in a petition must represent that person’s interests regardless of the source of payment to the attorney (Fla. Stat. § 397.68151).

Treatment costs and who pays once an order is in place

Treatment ordered by a court is a separate cost from the legal case. The court may order a respondent into treatment with a publicly funded licensed provider for a period not to exceed 90 days. It may order treatment with a privately funded provider if the respondent can pay, or if someone on the respondent’s behalf voluntarily shows a willingness and an ability to pay (Fla. Stat. § 397.697).

Before a person is admitted, the full charge for services must be disclosed. The person must contribute toward the cost based on ability to pay, unless the law provides otherwise (Fla. Stat. § 397.431). Providers that take state funds must base their fees on ability to pay. They may not deny access solely for inability to pay, if space and state resources are available (Fla. Stat. § 397.431).

For publicly funded services, a person who is not eligible for Medicaid and whose net family income is less than 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines must pay a portion of treatment costs comparable to the Medicaid copayment (Fla. Stat. § 394.674).

Here is the worry many parents describe. You may be asked to pay for a bed or program while your child’s condition keeps getting worse. The rules above show how cost is set, but they do not tell you what any payer will cover or how long care will last. For insurance and Medicaid details, read Marchman Act treatment, insurance and Medicaid in Florida.

Costs depend on who files: parent, spouse or relative

Florida law lets certain people file a petition for an adult. These include the respondent’s spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, and an adult with direct personal knowledge of the person’s impairment and prior treatment (Fla. Stat. § 397.68112).

A parent of an adult child is a relative, so a parent can file. A spouse can file too. Read the version of this guide that fits your relationship to the person: a parent petitioning for an adult child, a spouse, or another relative.

Your relationship does not change the three cost categories on this page. It can change the paperwork you handle and the details you need to gather.

How a Marchman Act petition is requested in Florida

A petition starts with the facts. It must name the respondent and the petitioner, state their relationship, and explain the factual reasons for the petitioner’s belief.

Start gathering records now. Write down recent overdoses, emergency room visits, hospital stays, arrests and missing-person episodes, with dates. These events are the facts a petition is built on.

The petition may include a report from a qualified professional who examined the person within 30 days before filing. If the person was not assessed, or refused an assessment, the petition must say so (Fla. Stat. § 397.68141).

In an emergency, the petition must describe the respondent’s exigent circumstances and include a request for an ex parte assessment and stabilization order. When the petitioner asserts that emergency circumstances exist, or the court determines that an emergency exists, the court may rely solely on the petition and, without appointing an attorney, enter an ex parte order for assessment and stabilization, which must be carried out while the hearing on the petition for treatment is pending (Fla. Stat. § 397.6818). The court’s ruling is the court’s decision. No filing can promise how it will rule.

Next step: talk through your situation and the costs

You have spent years paying for care and watching your child struggle. Now the calls, the bills and the fear have landed on you again. You don’t have to work out the legal and financial side alone.

Robinson & Casey focuses on Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. The firm serves Miami-Dade and South Florida families, and families across the state. Richard J. Casey III, Esq. is the responsible attorney for this page.

To discuss how costs would apply to your family, call (561) 849-4149 or visit our contact page.

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