Clear Guidance for Families Facing Marchman Act and Guardianship Matters

Marchman Act Petitions Under Florida Statutes Chapter 397

A Family Member Can Ask a Florida Court for Help Under the Marchman Act

A family member can ask a Florida court to order involuntary treatment for a loved one’s substance use impairment. The request is made through a petition under the Marchman Act.

“He won’t take anything, and he’s back in the emergency room again.” If that sounds like your life, you already know how exhausting the cycle is.

The current petition rules sit in several numbered sections of Chapter 397. This page walks through them in plain English.

If your loved one keeps refusing care, returns to crisis, or puts themselves or others at risk, you need clear rules more than general advice. Ask yourself three questions first. Who in your family can file? What facts can you prove? Where is your loved one right now?

Every case turns on its own facts. Treat this page as a map of the process, not a forecast of how your case will end.

Written by Richard J. Casey III, Esq., the responsible lawyer for this page at Robinson Casey, a Florida law firm. The firm focuses on Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters and serves families across South Florida and statewide.

What the Marchman Act Covers and Where 397.6811 Fits

The Marchman Act is Florida’s court process for involuntary treatment of substance abuse.

Under the current text of § 397.68112, the statute names who may file a petition for involuntary treatment services, with separate lists for adult and minor respondents.

Involuntary treatment is a separate path from voluntary admission. A person who agrees to treatment doesn’t need a court order. Section 397.68112 only says who may file a petition for involuntary treatment services; the court-order conditions are in Fla. Stat. § 397.697, which requires that the conditions be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

Under Fla. Stat. § 397.697, the court may order involuntary treatment only when the conditions are proved by clear and convincing evidence.

The court also keeps jurisdiction after an order. It can make further orders as the circumstances require.

Think of the Marchman Act as a set of steps with deadlines, not a single hearing. For the wider picture, read our Marchman Act attorney guide.

Who Can File a Marchman Act Petition in Florida?

For an adult, a spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult with direct personal knowledge of the person’s substance abuse impairment and prior course of assessment and treatment can file. That list comes from Fla. Stat. § 397.68112.

This matters for families. A sibling or adult child is a relative, so either one can file. The petitioner doesn’t need to be a court-appointed guardian first.

A petition is a court filing, not a referral or a medical order. The filer asks a judge to act. Filing is free of clerk fees, because Fla. Stat. § 397.681 says the clerk may not charge a fee for filing.

Location matters too. The petition belongs in the county where the person is physically located when it is filed. As the court explained in J.P. v. J.N., the filing of the petition in the wrong county did not divest the circuit court in Putnam County of jurisdiction.

What Must a Marchman Act Petition Say?

A petition must name the person and the petitioner. It must state their relationship and the facts that support the request. Florida law requires a petition for involuntary services for substance abuse impairment to state the respondent’s name, the petitioner’s name, the relationship between them, the respondent’s attorney if known, and the factual allegations showing the need for services.

The facts must answer specific questions. Why does the filer believe the person is substance abuse impaired? Why does the filer believe that impairment has taken away self-control?

Or the person refuses care because impaired judgment keeps them from understanding their need for it.

Refusal alone is not enough. Under Fla. Stat. § 397.675, a mere refusal of services is not, by itself, evidence of lack of judgment. Fla. Stat. § 397.675 reads: “(b) Without care or treatment, is likely to suffer from neglect or refuse to care for himself or herself; that such neglect or refusal poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to his or her well-being; and that it is not apparent that such harm may be avoided through the help of willing, able, and responsible family members or friends or the provision of other services, or there is substantial likelihood that the person has inflicted, or threatened to or attempted to inflict, or, unless admitted, is likely to inflict, physical harm on himself, herself, or another.”

If there was no assessment, or the person refused one, the petition must say so.

Dates of hospitalizations, names of treating providers, written records of refused care, and specific incidents involving safety, money or housing give the court concrete facts. Vague descriptions give the court less to review. The court then decides whether the statute’s standard is met, and the result depends on the facts and the court’s findings.

What Happens After a Petition Is Filed?

After filing, the court decides whether the person has a lawyer. It must schedule a hearing within 10 court working days unless a continuance is granted, under Fla. Stat. § 397.68151.

Copies of the petition and notice go to the person, the person’s attorney if known, the petitioner, the person’s spouse or guardian if applicable, and, for a minor, the parent, guardian, or legal custodian, plus any other persons the court directs. For a minor, a copy of the petition and notice must be personally delivered to the respondent. The clerk must electronically submit the summons to law enforcement for service within 6 hours after it is issued, unless the chief judge authorizes disinterested private process servers.

The person has a right to counsel at every stage of the proceeding. If the court believes the person needs or wants a lawyer, it must appoint one regardless of the person’s wishes, and a person who wants counsel and cannot afford private counsel has the right to court-appointed counsel; the right is covered in Fla. Stat. § 397.681.

In an emergency, the court may rely on the petition alone. It may enter an ex parte assessment and stabilization order without appointing an attorney, under Fla. Stat. § 397.6818. A provider generally may hold the person for no more than 72 hours of observation, with listed exceptions.

Thin facts can sink an emergency order.

At the hearing, the court hears relevant evidence, including testimony from family members about the person’s history. Testimony is under oath, and the person may refuse to testify. The court may also order drug tests, under Fla. Stat. § 397.6957.

The ruling is in C.W.R.K. v. Stewart Marchman Act Behavioral Healthcare. The Fourth District certified conflict with that view in J.J.J. v. D.G., and the 2024 amendments may affect the dispute.

How Marchman Act Petitions Relate to Guardianship

The Marchman Act handles substance use impairment through a court process with set time limits.

Families facing unsafe money, housing or medical choices may look at guardianship. Families dealing with substance use may look at the Marchman Act. The two paths answer different questions, so the facts of your situation point toward one, the other, or both.

Our guardianship work covers emergency temporary, plenary, limited and mental health guardianship. For that side of the picture, see our guardianship attorney guide.

Before you decide, write down the decisions your loved one can’t make right now. Note medical care, money, housing and daily safety. Those notes help clarify which path fits.

Your Next Step With Robinson Casey

If your loved one is in crisis now, the next step is a conversation with a Florida lawyer who focuses on Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. You may be weighing a filing before the next discharge, after another refused dose, or after money has gone missing.

Bring the dates, provider names and records you already have. That gives the conversation a clear starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions