{"id":21680,"date":"2026-11-10T21:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T21:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robinsoncasey.com\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-missing-relapse-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T21:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T21:21:20","slug":"marchman-act-adult-child-missing-relapse-florida","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/robinsoncasey.com\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-missing-relapse-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Marchman Act Attorney Miami-Dade: Missing Adult Child"},"content":{"rendered":"<article lang=\"en\">\n\n<h1>Marchman Act Attorney Miami-Dade: Missing Adult Child<\/h1>\n<p>Your adult child stopped answering after a relapse, and you don&#8217;t know where they are. Each hour without news feels like the one that could end in an overdose.<\/p>\n<p>A parent can ask a Florida court for help under the Marchman Act. The petition is filed in the county where your child is physically located, so that location matters from the start. The steps below show what the petition needs and what follows.<\/p>\n<h2>Your adult child is missing after a relapse: what you can do today<\/h2>\n<p>Start with safety. If you believe your child is in immediate danger, call 911 first, because a court petition does not replace emergency help.<\/p>\n<p>Next, build a written record. The petition must rest on facts. Under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.68141.html\">Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.68141<\/a>, it must state why you believe your child is substance abuse impaired and has lost the power of self-control over substance use. It must also show a likely risk of physical harm to self or others, or a refusal of care based on impaired judgment.<\/p>\n<p>Start collecting these items:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your child&#8217;s last known address and the places they often stay or go.<\/li>\n<li>Dates and details of each overdose, hospital visit, arrest or threat.<\/li>\n<li>Names and phone numbers of people who have seen your child recently.<\/li>\n<li>Texts, voicemails and messages that show use, risk or plans to leave.<\/li>\n<li>A simple log of every call, police contact and hospital contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Write each log entry the day it happens. Memory blurs dates, and dates matter in a petition.<\/p>\n<p>If a qualified professional assessed your child within the last 30 days, get that report. A petition may be accompanied by it. If your child was never assessed or refused an evaluation, the petition must say so.<\/p>\n<h2>What the Marchman Act is and who can file it<\/h2>\n<p>The Marchman Act is Florida&#8217;s law for court-ordered help when an adult&#8217;s substance use impairs them. It sits in Chapter 397 of the Florida Statutes.<\/p>\n<p>For an adult, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.68112.html\">Fla. Stat. \u00a7 397.68112<\/a> lets a petition be filed by the respondent&#8217;s spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult with direct personal knowledge of the substance abuse impairment and prior treatment. As a parent, you fall within &#8220;any relative.&#8221; The list does not include the adult&#8217;s agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Voluntary admission needs your child to agree to go. An involuntary petition asks the court to decide whether the legal criteria are met.<\/p>\n<h2>Can you still file when you do not know where your child is?<\/h2>\n<p>You can gather the facts now, but the court ties the petition to where your child is physically located. In <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/517637\/opinion\/Opinion_16-3789.pdf\">J.P. v. J.N.<\/a>, the court held that &#8220;the filing of the petition in the wrong county did not divest the circuit court in Putnam County of jurisdiction.&#8221; Even though the petition was filed in the wrong county, the circuit court in Putnam County kept its jurisdiction, as held in <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/517637\/opinion\/Opinion_16-3789.pdf\">J.P. v. J.N.<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Once a petition is filed, the clerk issues a summons. Unless the chief judge allows private process servers, the clerk must send it to a law enforcement agency within 6 hours for service, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.68151.html\">\u00a7 397.68151<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In an emergency, the petition must describe the exigent circumstances and may ask for an ex parte order. Under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.6818.html\">\u00a7 397.6818<\/a>, when the petitioner asserts that emergency circumstances exist, or the court determines that an emergency exists, the court may rely solely on the contents of the petition and, without appointing an attorney, enter an ex parte order for the respondent&#8217;s involuntary assessment and stabilization. A provider may hold a person no more than 72 hours for observation, unless a listed exception applies.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/2394682\/opinion\/Opinion_2022-3523.pdf\">D.H. v. K.J.R.<\/a>, the petition did not establish a good faith reason to believe D.H. met the statutory criteria for involuntary assessment and stabilization, so the trial court erred in entering the ex parte order. In <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/2394682\/opinion\/Opinion_2022-3523.pdf\">D.H. v. K.J.R.<\/a>, the Second District ruled that the trial court erred in entering the ex parte order because the petition did not establish a good faith reason to believe D.H. met the statutory criteria for involuntary assessment and stabilization. Whether your petition can move forward depends on the facts in your file.<\/p>\n<h2>What the firm&#8217;s Marchman Act work covers<\/h2>\n<p>Robinson Casey limits its practice to Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters. The Marchman Act work covers the steps from fact review through the court&#8217;s order.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Review of your documents and your child&#8217;s history of substance use and crisis contacts.<\/li>\n<li>Drafting the petition with the required contents: names, your relationship, your child&#8217;s attorney if known, and the factual allegations.<\/li>\n<li>Attaching a qualified professional&#8217;s report when one exists, and noting any missing or refused assessment.<\/li>\n<li>An emergency request for an ex parte order when the facts show exigent circumstances.<\/li>\n<li>Preparing your evidence and testimony for the hearing, where the court hears family members familiar with your child&#8217;s history.<\/li>\n<li>Explaining the orders that may follow and the time limit on each.<\/li>\n<li>Support staff who handle scheduling and document intake.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How the process unfolds, step by step<\/h2>\n<p>The process runs in a set order: consultation, documents, filing, hearing, then the court&#8217;s order.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Consultation.<\/strong> Your first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue. We&#8217;ll ask where your child was last seen and where they may be now.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Documents.<\/strong> You bring your log, records, messages and contacts. We tell you what is missing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Filing.<\/strong> The petition goes to the clerk in the county where your child is located. The clerk may not charge a filing fee, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.681.html\">\u00a7 397.681<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hearing.<\/strong> The court hears and reviews all relevant evidence, and testimony at the hearing must be taken under oath and the proceedings must be recorded, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.6957.html\">\u00a7 397.6957<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Order.<\/strong> If the court finds the conditions proved by clear and convincing evidence, it may order involuntary treatment for up to 90 days, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.697.html\">\u00a7 397.697<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renewal or discharge.<\/strong> A renewal may be requested before the 90 days end, for up to an additional 90 days, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.6975.html\">\u00a7 397.6975<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The court&#8217;s calendar varies, so we review the expected sequence with you at the start.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Robinson Casey for this matter<\/h2>\n<p>Robinson Casey serves families across South Florida, including Miami-Dade, and across Florida. Richard J. Casey III, Esq. is the responsible lawyer for this page. The firm&#8217;s lawyers focus their work on Marchman Act and guardianship matters.<\/p>\n<p>Proof matters in these cases. The petitioner carries the burden of proof. In <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/633947\/opinion\/Opinion_19-0739.pdf\">J.C. v. State<\/a>, a Florida appeals court reversed an order where the trial court questioned the only witness after the petitioner was absent.<\/p>\n<p>Your child also has rights. A respondent has the right to counsel at every stage of the proceeding, though the respondent may waive that right if present and the court finds the waiver is made knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily; a respondent who cannot afford private counsel has the right to court-appointed counsel, and if the court believes the respondent needs or desires counsel, the court shall appoint it without regard to the respondent&#8217;s wishes. In <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/247103\/opinion\/Opinion_02-547.pdf\">Hillsborough County v. Albrechta<\/a>, a Florida appeals court held that a Marchman respondent has a constitutional due-process right to counsel.<\/p>\n<h2>Questions parents ask before they call<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Will a petition put my child in jail?<\/strong>\nThe court may order involuntary treatment and may direct a sheriff to take your child to a treatment provider, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.697.html\">\u00a7 397.697<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there a filing fee?<\/strong>\nThe clerk may not charge a fee for filing the petition, under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0300-0399\/0397\/Sections\/0397.681.html\">\u00a7 397.681<\/a>. A court may bar, or a law enforcement agency may waive, service fees for an indigent petitioner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can a lawyer promise my child will get treatment?<\/strong>\nNo one can promise a result. The court decides based on the evidence presented at the hearing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What if I don&#8217;t know which county my child is in?<\/strong>\nTell us where your child was last seen, and we&#8217;ll review the county question before anything is filed.<\/p>\n<p>If your adult child has gone missing after a relapse and you&#8217;re weighing a Marchman Act petition, you don&#8217;t have to decide the next step alone. To schedule a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue, phone Robinson Casey at (561) 849-4149 or visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/robinsoncasey.com\/contact\/\">contact page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<footer class=\"disclaimer\"><em>The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Results in prior cases do not guarantee similar outcomes in future matters. Please consult a licensed Florida attorney for advice specific to your situation. Robinson Casey, 6400 Congress Ave #2050, Boca Raton, FL 33487.<\/em><\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related practice areas<\/h2><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/\">Involuntary Commitment for Addiction in Florida<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<!-- chg:section-siblings -->\n<nav aria-label=\"More in this section\">\n<h2>More in this section<\/h2>\n<ul><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-other-state\/\">Can a Florida Marchman Act Be Used for an Adult Child Who Lives in Another State?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-out-of-state\/\">My Adult Son Lives in Another State: Can a Florida Marchman Act Still Help?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-out-of-state-florida\/\">Marchman Act Petition for an Adult Child Who Lives Out of State<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-child-overdose-florida\/\">Marchman Act Petition for an Adult Child After an Overdose in Florida<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/guides\/involuntary-commitment-addiction\/marchman-act-adult-living-out-of-state-florida\/\">Can a Marchman Act Be Used for an Adult Living Out of State?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<!-- \/chg:section-siblings -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adult child missing after a relapse in Florida? 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