{"id":19488,"date":"2026-11-09T03:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T03:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robinsoncasey.com\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/homeless-adult-son-drugs-refuses-help-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T07:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T07:29:39","slug":"homeless-adult-son-drugs-refuses-help-florida","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/robinsoncasey.com\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/homeless-adult-son-drugs-refuses-help-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Marchman Act Options for a Homeless Adult Son in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span>\"homeless
<\/div><\/div>\n
\n

Marchman Act Options for a Homeless Adult Son in Florida<\/h1>\n

If your adult son is homeless, using drugs and refusing help, Florida law gives your family court routes, even when he says no. The main paths are a Marchman Act petition for involuntary treatment, guardianship in its forms, and involuntary commitment for addiction. Which one fits turns on the facts of his situation.<\/p>\n

This page is written by Richard J. Casey III, Esq., the responsible lawyer for Robinson Casey, a Florida law firm. The firm limits its practice to Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. It serves families across South Florida and statewide.<\/p>\n

Where you are right now, and why this feels impossible<\/h2>\n

You may have gotten a call from a hospital, a police station, or a friend who found him on the street. Maybe he left again, and you don’t know where he slept. You have paid for treatment before. You have tried the talks, the interventions and the boundaries. Still, he keeps getting worse.<\/p>\n

The core bind is hard. He is an adult. He says no. Yet you still lie awake wondering whether tonight’s phone call will be about an overdose. That fear is real, and it is the reason you are reading this page.<\/p>\n

This page explains the legal paths Florida gives a family in your position. It also explains what each path turns on and where the limits are. It cannot promise that any path will work. It gives you the facts so you can decide your next step with a clearer head.<\/p>\n

Why a homeless adult son who refuses help is a legal problem too<\/h2>\n

Florida’s Department of Children and Families explains that vulnerable adults who have the capacity to consent may refuse services and interventions. Florida Department of Children and Families<\/a> That rule is why a parent’s pleading often fails by itself.<\/p>\n

The law asks a different question. A person may meet the criteria for involuntary admission if there is good faith reason to believe that the person is substance abuse impaired or has a substance use disorder and a co-occurring mental health disorder, and that, because of that impairment or disorder, the person meets the other conditions the law sets out. He must also have lost the power of self-control over substance use. The same section adds that mere refusal to accept services is not, by itself, evidence of lack of judgment.<\/p>\n

That is the point many parents miss. The court does not weigh how hard you tried. It looks at whether the statutory criteria are met.<\/p>\n

A request for help is words from a family. A court order is a judge’s decision that starts a legal process. Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.697<\/a>, a court may order involuntary treatment for up to 90 days. If the court finds it necessary, it can direct the sheriff to take him into custody and deliver him to a provider. That gap matters most when overdose risk is high.<\/p>\n

The Marchman Act petition: how a Florida family asks a court for help<\/h2>\n

The Marchman Act, found in Chapter 397 of the Florida Statutes, is the state’s framework for involuntary treatment of adults impaired by substances. A family starts it by filing a petition.<\/p>\n

A parent can file. For an adult, a petition may come from a spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult with direct personal knowledge of the impairment and prior treatment.<\/p>\n

The petition goes to the clerk of the court in the county where your son is located. The clerk may not charge a fee to file it. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.681<\/a><\/p>\n

Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.68141<\/a> A recent assessment may be attached if a qualified professional examined him within 30 days before the petition was filed. If he was not assessed or refused, the petition must say so.<\/p>\n

Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.6818<\/a> When the petitioner asserts that emergency circumstances exist, or the court finds an emergency exists, the court may rely solely on the contents of the petition and, without the appointment of an attorney, enter an ex parte order for the respondent’s involuntary assessment and stabilization. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.6818<\/a> A provider generally may not hold him for more than 72 hours of observation, unless a listed exception applies.<\/p>\n

Petition facts carry weight.<\/p>\n

Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.6957<\/a> The court shall hear and review all relevant evidence, including testimony from individuals such as family members familiar with the respondent’s prior history. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.6957<\/a> A judge decides the petition. No one can tell you in advance what the court will order.<\/p>\n

When the real question is capacity: guardianship options<\/h2>\n

Guardianship is a court process for an adult who cannot safely handle basic decisions, such as housing, food and medical care. The court first decides whether the adult is incapacitated in a particular area. The court must base that finding on clear and convincing evidence. It may remove only the rights the person does not have the capacity to exercise. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 744.331<\/a><\/p>\n

A petition to determine incapacity must already be on file. The court must find that there appears to be 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. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 744.3031<\/a> Fla. Stat. \u00a7 744.3031<\/a> The court must appoint counsel for the alleged incapacitated person. Notice must reach that person and the lawyer at least 24 hours before the hearing, unless substantial harm would occur without it.<\/p>\n

Emergency temporary authority ends after 90 days or when a guardian is appointed, whichever comes first. It may be extended for another 90 days if the emergency still exists. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 744.3031<\/a><\/p>\n

In general terms, a plenary guardianship covers a wider set of decisions. A limited guardianship covers fewer, named decisions. Mental health guardianship is a separate category that may apply when a mental health condition is central to the case.<\/p>\n

Which path fits turns on your son’s condition, what he can and cannot decide, and how urgent the danger is.<\/p>\n

Involuntary commitment for addiction and what happens after admission<\/h2>\n

Involuntary commitment for addiction is the court-ordered treatment route under the Marchman Act. A court may order involuntary treatment for a period not to exceed 90 days. The provider may be publicly funded. It may be privately funded if the person can pay, or if someone on his behalf shows a willingness and ability to pay. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.697<\/a><\/p>\n

A renewal may be requested before the 90 days end, if the conditions are expected to exist after 90 days of treatment. The court keeps jurisdiction to monitor compliance and handle violations of its orders. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.697<\/a><\/p>\n

Release comes when the conditions justifying treatment no longer exist. The statute lists early-release grounds. One ground is that he no longer meets the admission criteria and gives informed consent to voluntary status. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.6971<\/a><\/p>\n

Many parents expect one court order to solve the problem. A court order starts a process. It does not finish one. Relapse after court-ordered treatment is a separate question, and it deserves its own careful read.<\/p>\n

Drug court or Marchman Act: how the two routes differ<\/h2>\n

Drug court is a program for people already in the justice system. A Marchman Act case starts with a family’s petition. The two tracks have different starting points and different decision-makers.<\/p>\n

Treatment-based drug court programs address persons in the justice system who are assessed with a substance abuse problem. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.334<\/a> Entry into a pretrial drug court is voluntary. When s. 948.08(6)(c)1. does not apply, a court may order an eligible person into a pretrial drug court only upon a written agreement by that person that includes a statement that the person understands the program’s requirements and the potential sanctions for noncompliance. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.334<\/a><\/p>\n

If your son is arrested, he may land in a drug court track. If no charge is pending, the family petition under Chapter 397 is the path to examine. Keep the two tracks separate in your notes. A comparison of their differences is worth reading on its own.<\/p>\n

Filing in Miami-Dade and South Florida circuit courts<\/h2>\n

A Marchman Act petition is filed with the clerk of the court in the county where your son is located. In Miami-Dade and across South Florida, that means the county where he is physically found when you file. That may differ from where he slept last night.<\/p>\n

However, the filing of the petition in the wrong county did not divest the circuit court in Putnam County of jurisdiction, as stated in J.P. v. J.N.<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gather your facts before you file. Write a timeline with dates, places and what happened. Keep hospital discharge papers, police reports and messages that show danger. Name witnesses who know his history, since the court can hear family testimony.<\/p>\n

Florida’s appeal courts do not always agree on how a judge may question witnesses when the petitioner is absent. In doing so, the court failed to follow the applicable statute by essentially functioning as the absent petitioner (J.C. v. State<\/a>). The trial court failed to follow the governing statute when, in the absence of the petitioner, it called and questioned the health care professional who executed the involuntary services certificate, as stated in C.W.R.K. v. Stewart Marchman Act Behavioral Healthcare<\/a>. The Fourth District reached a different result in J.J.J. v. D.G.<\/a>, certifying conflict. J.J.J. v. D.G.<\/a> concludes: “we certify conflict with R.S., J.W., and C.W.R.K., for the reasons stated above. Affirmed; conflict certified.”<\/p>\n

The firm serves families in Miami-Dade and across South Florida.<\/p>\n

Keeping yourself and your son safe while you decide<\/h2>\n

Safety steps help today. They do not replace a legal decision.<\/p>\n

Keep a written log with dates, places, incidents and who was present. Save emergency numbers where everyone in the home can find them. Keep a copy of every hospital discharge paper and police report.<\/p>\n

Helping and enabling are different. Helping means offering a ride to an assessment, a bed in a program, or a call for help. Enabling means paying for drugs, covering drug debts, or keeping a room open that lets him keep using. Setting limits is about your own conduct, not his.<\/p>\n

You are tired, scared and grieving a son who is still alive. That grief is real. Safety planning helps you act today. It does not decide whether he can be ordered into treatment.<\/p>\n

Talk through your son’s situation with Robinson Casey<\/h2>\n

If your son is homeless, using drugs and refusing help, you may want a legal path to treatment. You do not have to sort it out alone.<\/p>\n

Call (561) 849-4700 or request a consultation at Robinson Casey contact page<\/a>. Bring your timeline, any hospital or police papers, and your questions. We can look at which of these paths fits the facts you describe. A first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.<\/p>\n