Discharged From the Hospital? Get Clear Guidance on Your Marchman Act Petition

Your Child Came Home From the Hospital, but the Crisis Has Not Ended

If a hospital discharged an addicted adult who refuses treatment in Florida, the discharge did not close the legal options. A hospital stay handles the medical problem that brought your child in. It doesn’t decide whether your child needs longer treatment for a substance use disorder.

You may be holding discharge papers that say your child is stable. You may also fear the same pattern will return within days. Overdose, death, arrest, homelessness, and the feeling that nothing will work are the worries many parents describe.

Many families in this position have already paid for treatment, tried interventions, and set firm boundaries. Some have watched the cycle repeat after every hospital visit. You want a legal way to get your child into proper treatment, so you no longer carry this crisis alone.

Florida law gives certain family members a court route for adults who meet the statutory criteria. The rest of this page explains that route in plain terms. If your family is also dealing with lost housing, read this guide on Marchman Act help for a homeless adult child.

What the Marchman Act Is and Who Can Start a Petition

The Marchman Act is a civil court process in Florida for adults and minors with substance use problems. It lets a judge order assessment, stabilization, and treatment when the legal criteria are met. Families often ask how these proceedings compare with criminal cases.

For an adult respondent, 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 substance abuse impairment and the person’s prior course of assessment and treatment. That rule comes from Florida Statutes § 397.68112. A parent who is a relative of the adult child falls within that group.

The petition is filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the adult is located. The clerk may not charge a filing fee (Florida Statutes § 397.681). The Miami-Dade Clerk guidance directs adult cases to the Probate Court.

The judge decides based on the statute and the evidence presented. The result depends on the facts of each case, and no outcome can be promised in advance.

Hospital Stay, Baker Act Evaluation, or Marchman Act Petition: How They Differ

A hospital stay answers a medical question, while a Marchman Act petition asks a court to address substance use. The treating medical team decides when your child is medically ready to leave. That discharge decision is clinical, not a court order about addiction treatment.

The Baker Act, in Chapter 394 of the Florida Statutes, covers mental health crises. The Marchman Act covers substance use. Many families face both substance use and mental health concerns at the same time.

The Marchman criteria require a good faith reason to believe the adult is substance abuse impaired. The adult must have lost the power of self-control with respect to substance use. 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.”

A petition also needs a trigger. Under Florida Statutes § 397.68111, the trigger can be that the adult reasonably appears to meet the criteria for involuntary admission, protective custody or an emergency admission within the previous 10 days, or an assessment by a qualified professional within 30 days.

Families often ask how guardianship differs from other court matters. It is not the same as a Marchman Act petition, and the two should not be confused.

Step by Step: From Discharge Day to the Court Hearing

The Marchman process moves in set steps, and the timing follows the court’s calendar. Plan for a process, not a single day.

1. Gather your records. Collect the discharge summary, dated notes on overdoses, relapses, arrests, or disappearances, and any past treatment history.
2. Review the facts and the county. A petition belongs where the adult is physically located when filed. In J.P. v. J.N., the Fifth District held that filing in the wrong county did not divest the circuit court of jurisdiction.
3. Prepare the petition. It must name the adult, the petitioner, and the relationship. It must state the factual allegations, and it must say if the adult was not assessed or refused one (Florida Statutes § 397.68141).
4. Court sets the hearing. The court schedules a hearing within 10 court working days unless a continuance is granted. The clerk sends a summons to law enforcement for service within 6 hours, unless the chief judge allows private process servers (Florida Statutes § 397.68151).
5. Emergencies follow a faster track. When emergency circumstances exist, the court may enter an ex parte assessment and stabilization order. A service provider generally may not hold the adult for more than 72 hours of observation, subject to statutory exceptions (Florida Statutes § 397.6818).
6. The hearing and order. The court hears the evidence. If the criteria are proved by clear and convincing evidence, the court may order treatment for up to 90 days (Florida Statutes § 397.697).

What Evidence Helps a Judge Understand the Situation

Dated, specific facts help a judge more than general worry. The court hears all relevant evidence, including testimony from family members who know the adult’s history (Florida Statutes § 397.6957).

Useful material often includes:

• Hospital discharge summaries and emergency records, obtained through proper authorization.
• A dated timeline of overdoses, relapses, arrests, job loss, housing loss, and dangerous behavior.
• Names of people who saw the behavior firsthand.
• A record of past treatment, what was tried, and how long each lasted.

Court records in these cases are confidential (Florida Statutes § 397.6760). Federal law also limits how treatment records can be used against a patient (42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2).

Who testifies matters. In the Fifth District, a court may not call and question the assessing professional when the petitioner is absent. The Fourth District has certified conflict on that point, so the rule is not settled statewide. Your lawyer decides what goes into the filing and how the evidence is presented.

How Robinson Casey Approaches Marchman Act Petitions

Robinson Casey limits its practice to Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. That focus keeps the work on these proceedings and on the questions families ask about them.

Richard J. Casey III, Esq. is the responsible lawyer for this page. Our team, which includes support staff, helps families organize records, timelines, and key dates. The firm serves families in Miami-Dade, South Florida, and statewide.

If a different proceeding fits your family’s situation better, we will tell you and explain the difference. Our goal is to make sure you understand which path applies before any filing is made.

Questions Families Ask Before Filing

Talk With Robinson Casey About Your Child’s Hospital Discharge

If your adult child has just come home from the hospital and you are unsure whether a court petition is the right step, you are not alone in that decision. Call (561) 849-4149 or request a free, confidential consultation to talk through the facts with our team.

Responsible lawyer: Richard J. Casey III, Esq.