A Clear Checklist for Parents Facing a Marchman Act Petition

Florida law lets a parent file a Marchman Act petition for an adult child, if the legal tests are met. You may be reading this after an overdose, a relapse, a hospital visit, an arrest, or a day when your child disappeared. This Marchman Act checklist for parents helps you sort your situation into the questions a Florida court asks.

Where You Are Right Now, and What This Checklist Does

This checklist helps you test whether a Marchman Act petition may fit your adult child’s situation. You may have spent years paying for treatment, trying interventions, and holding boundaries, and still watched your child get worse. That fear is common. Many parents dread an overdose, jail, or homelessness more than anything else.

This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Your answers won’t decide your case, and only a court can order treatment. What it does is turn your worry into specific facts you can bring to a lawyer.

What the Marchman Act Covers in Florida

When the petitioner asserts, or when the court determines upon review of the petition that, emergency circumstances exist, the Marchman Act lets a Florida court enter an ex parte order, without the appointment of an attorney, for assessment and stabilization of a person with substance abuse impairment. A court can act only when the statute’s criteria are met, and the Florida involuntary admission criteria are the core test.

The process generally moves in this order:

• In an emergency, a judge may enter an ex parte assessment order without first appointing an attorney.
• Under Fla. Stat. § 397.6818(4), when the respondent does not appear at the hearing for any reason, including lack of service, the court may issue or reissue an ex parte assessment and stabilization order, but only if, after reviewing the petition, testimony, and evidence presented, it reasonably believes the respondent meets the chapter’s commitment criteria and that a substance abuse emergency exists. If the respondent’s location is known, the court must continue the case for no more than 10 court working days.
• Under Fla. Stat. § 397.6818(4), the 90-day figure concerns the validity of a reissued ex parte assessment and stabilization order.

The Eligibility Checklist: Five Yes-or-No Tests

This Marchman Act checklist for parents has five tests, and each one tracks a legal element. Write down the dates and facts behind every answer.

Test 1: Is your child 18 or older? Yes means this page’s rules apply. No means minors fall under different rules, and a parent may file under a separate part of the petition filer rules. Next step: If yes, continue. If no, ask how the minor rules apply to your child.

Has substance use taken away your child’s self-control? Under Fla. Stat. § 397.675, one of the required findings is that, because of substance abuse impairment, the person has lost the power of self-control with respect to substance abuse. Next step: If yes, go to Test 3. If no, write down why and still bring your notes to a consultation.

Either way, your child must also have lost the power of self-control with respect to substance abuse. Simply refusing treatment is not enough on its own, because the statute says mere refusal is not evidence of lack of judgment. Next step: If yes, go to Test 4. If no, keep your notes for the lawyer.

Do you have direct personal knowledge of the impairment? Under Fla. Stat. § 397.68112(1), a petition for involuntary treatment services may be filed by the respondent’s spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult who has direct personal knowledge of the respondent’s substance abuse impairment and his or her prior course of assessment and treatment. Next step: If yes, you fall within the people the statute lists. Note who else saw the behavior.

Next step: If yes, gather any records. If no, ask whether a recent assessment exists.

How to Read Your Results

Several yes answers mean you should talk with a lawyer soon. They do not decide what a court will do. Mixed or unsure answers are common, so treat them as a reason to ask questions, not to wait.

• Mostly yes: Bring your notes to a consultation soon.
• Mixed or unsure: Bring the same notes. A lawyer can sort the facts against the law.
• Immediate danger: If your child has overdosed or faces an immediate threat, call 911 first. The petition process comes after immediate safety.

No checklist can predict how a court will rule on a specific case.

What to Gather and What to Expect After You Decide to Act

Gather your records first, because a petition must state the facts behind your belief. Make a written timeline with dates, incidents, any police or hospital records you already hold, prior treatment history, and names of people who saw what happened.

After you decide to act, the general path looks like this:

1. Consult a lawyer about your facts.
2. File with the clerk in the county where your child is located. The clerk filing rules say the clerk may not charge a filing fee. A petition filed in the wrong county is a venue problem, and the remedy is transfer, not dismissal, under J.P. v. J.N..
3. Emergency steps: A provider may hold your child for up to 72 hours of observation, unless the statute’s listed exceptions apply.
4. Hearing: If your child does not appear at the hearing for any reason, and the court reasonably believes the criteria are met and a substance abuse emergency exists, the court may issue or reissue an ex parte order valid for 90 days. If your child’s location is known, the court must continue the case for no more than 10 court working days.

In J.C. v. State, a Fifth District decision, the court said the trial court “failed to follow the applicable statute by essentially functioning as the absent petitioner.” In that case, the appellate court said the trial court failed to follow the governing statute when, in the petitioner’s absence, it called and questioned the health care professional who executed the involuntary services certificate. Timelines vary by county and by case.

Why Robinson Casey Handles These Matters

Robinson Casey focuses exclusively on Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters for families in Miami Dade, across South Florida, and statewide. Richard J. Casey III, Esq. is the responsible attorney for this page. Our team includes support staff who help families schedule consultations and organize documents.

The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Common Questions Parents Ask Before Calling

The who may petition statute sets this out.

Take the Next Step: Talk With Robinson Casey