Florida Marchman Act Attorney
You haven't run out of options. The Marchman Act is what's left.
Twenty Minutes Could Save You Months of Guessing
Right now, you're carrying this mostly alone. Trying to figure out what you're actually allowed to do for an adult child who can't always keep themselves safe. Wondering if guardianship is too far, or not enough. That's exhausting, and it doesn't have to stay that way. One call changes that.
Our intake specialist does one job, not five. While you're waiting somewhere else for an attorney to finish a hearing and clear their desk, ours is already telling you fast whether guardianship fits your situation, whether something less restrictive already covers it, or whether this is urgent enough to move on today.
You'll leave that call holding your Clarity Brief: where things stand right now, and the exact steps we'd walk you through from here. See what's in a Clarity Brief.
The call doesn't commit you to anything. If guardianship isn't the right fit, we'll tell you that too, and make a warm introduction to whoever actually can help. A treatment provider. A case manager. Whoever your family needs.
Two Things Have to Happen. Most Firms Only Handle One.
That's the difference between hiring a lawyer and hiring a team.
One files paperwork. The other stays in the fight with you.
Astor Simovitch Law was built from the ground up to close that gap.
We are Marchman Act attorneys first, and we have spent decades inside Florida's treatment system alongside the legal one.
We know which facilities have beds tonight.
We know which ones actually treat co-occurring disorders instead of just detox.
We know which judges in which counties want to see what kind of evidence, and we know what happens after the order, because we stay on the case through it.
So what exactly does Florida law let you do and what does it actually mean for your family?
The Marchman Act, officially known as the Hal S. Marchman Alcohol and Other Drug Services Act of 1993, is a Florida civil law that allows families, medical professionals, and law enforcement to petition the court for involuntary assessment and treatment of a person who is severely impaired by substance abuse.
Under Chapter 397, Florida Statutes, a judge can order someone into assessment and treatment even over their objection, provided specific legal criteria are met. It is a civil proceeding, not a criminal one. Your loved one is not arrested or charged with a crime.
Three things that shape every Marchman Act case in Florida:
The person must meet the criteria under §397.675 F.S.: impaired by substance abuse, unable to control their use or make rational decisions about treatment, and at risk of harm to themselves or others. Heavy use alone is not enough. The legal threshold matters.
The initial court-ordered assessment lasts up to five days. If assessment confirms the need for treatment, the court can order up to 90 days of involuntary treatment under §397.693 F.S., with a possible 90-day extension if necessary.
Any concerned person can file. A spouse, parent, adult child, sibling, or any three adults with firsthand knowledge of the impairment can petition the circuit court in the county where the respondent lives under §397.697 F.S.
Most families don't know this: if your loved one is in immediate danger right now, a judge can grant an Ex Parte emergency order without a hearing, without waiting 10 days. Your loved one can be transported to assessment today. That option exists. But it requires knowing exactly when and how to file for it.
What Families Are Worried About
Nobody calls us on a good day.
They call because they've realized love and good intentions don't come with legal authority attached.
That fear is real. It's not overreacting, it's what happens when a hospital, a bank, or a court asks a question no one in the family has the right to answer.
"I finally understood what our options actually were, and that we weren't out of them."
What you're watching is what this disease does.
Substance use disorder doesn't respond to conversations the way other problems do. It doesn't respond to ultimatums either. That's not a failure on your part, it's the nature of the condition. It's also why this law exists.
Fair question. The Marchman Act isn't a guarantee. It's a legal tool, one that creates a window: a period of court-ordered assessment and treatment where your loved one can't simply walk out. What happens inside that window depends on two things:
That's the part most attorneys don't talk about.
Filing the petition is just the first step. What actually determines the outcome:
- Getting the right treatment in place.
- Navigating compliance once your loved one is there.
- Knowing when it's time to go back to court.
Here's the thing most people don't realize:
Every day you wait, the other side is moving. Addiction doesn't pause while families decide. And the window for an Ex Parte emergency order closes the moment the immediate crisis does. You can't file for an emergency order about something that happened three weeks ago. Timing in these cases is not a formality. It's everything.
Get Your Way Back Map:
A Plan That Goes Further Than the Courtroom
Filing a petition gets your loved one into treatment. It doesn't get them home, back in school, back to work, or back to being the person your family remembers. That's a longer road, and most families are never handed a plan for it.
On your first call with us, we build something we call the Way Back Map. It's a real document: printed, bound, and yours to keep. Something you sit down with your spouse over, hand to your loved one's counselor, or bring to a family meeting. Not a set of notes you're left trying to remember three days later.
It doesn't stop at "in treatment." It maps the whole distance between where things stand for your family right now and wherever you say you want your loved one to end up. Home. Back in school. Working again. Reconciled with the people they've hurt. You define the destination. We map the route.
We can only build your Way Back Map once we know your family's specific situation. That's what the call is for.
How the Marchman Act Process Works in Florida
This process runs through Florida's circuit courts, the same system in all 67 counties. From Miami-Dade to Duval, from Hillsborough to Palm Beach, the steps don't change. What changes is how well your case is prepared.
Assessment Call
Before anything is filed, we talk. We need to know whether the Marchman Act is actually the right tool for your situation. Sometimes it is. Sometimes a Baker Act, a guardianship, or a different intervention makes more sense. We don't file petitions to file petitions. We file them when they're the right move.
Petition preparation & filing
We prepare and file the Petition for Involuntary Assessment and Stabilization with the circuit court in the county where your loved one lives. The petition must present documented evidence meeting the criteria under §397.675 F.S. A single technical error gives the respondent's attorney grounds to challenge the entire filing. That's not a risk families should take going in unrepresented.
Emergency order, when time matters
If your loved one is in immediate danger, we can file for an Ex Parte emergency order. A judge can grant this without a hearing. Law enforcement can transport your loved one to assessment that same day. Most families don't know this option exists until they need it urgently, and by then, the window has sometimes already closed.
Court hearing
For non-emergency petitions, the court sets a hearing within 10 days. The respondent is served by the sheriff and has the right to appear with counsel. Here's something most families don't know going in: the court appoints an attorney for your loved one, free of charge. You present your evidence to a judge while the other side has legal representation. We make sure yours is stronger.
Order for assessment
If the petition is granted, law enforcement transports your loved one to the treatment facility. The initial assessment period is up to five days. A qualified professional evaluates the extent of the impairment and makes recommendations to the court. The quality of the facility and the clinical team during this window shapes everything that comes next.
Treatment, monitoring & compliance
If the assessment confirms a substance use disorder, the court can order involuntary treatment for up to 90 days under §397.693 F.S. We monitor compliance, coordinate with the treatment facility, and return to court if your loved one fails to comply or if an extension is warranted. The legal process doesn't end at the order. It ends when your loved one is safe.
Mark Astor and his team did a fantastic job helping a close family member of mine through a difficult phase of substance abuse. My family member is now sober for over 5 years.
Mark Astor and his team are exceptional. He provided outstanding legal support and guidance throughout my case, demonstrating both expertise and genuine care.
Our family will always be grateful
for your assistance with the Marchman Act. It has been a lifesaver!
We are now celebrating 3 years sober!
That's what the call is for.
What Happens When You Wait
Most families wait longer than they should. Not because they don't care. Because they're hoping things will improve on their own, or because they need more time to be sure. Here's what's happening on the other side of that decision.
The Family's Resolve
Starts to Erode
The first conversation about filing is usually the hardest one.
Once your family reaches that decision, it's fragile.
Time gives room for doubt, for one relative to push back, for your loved one to make promises that feel real in the moment.
The Respondent
Gets Organized
Once your loved one learns a petition may be coming, or is served with one, their court-appointed attorney begins building a defense.
The more prepared your evidence is before that process starts, the less you're scrambling to catch up.
Evidence
Deteriorates
Petitions require documented, specific evidence of impairment: incident reports, medical records, witness observations with dates and details.
The further you get from the events that prompted this decision, the harder it becomes to reconstruct a compelling record.
Treatment Bed
Availability Changes Daily
Before filing, a treatment facility needs to have a bed available for your loved one.
Bed availability in Florida varies by county and shifts constantly.
Waiting means restarting that search, sometimes at the worst possible moment..
The families who get the best outcomes are the ones who moved before the crisis got worse. Not after.
Make sure you have an attorney on your side too.
Marchman Act · Florida
A Real Client's Success Story
Two days in, he called to say he was leaving. She had no legal hold in place, no way to reach him in time, and no mechanism to stop him. He had walked out of two prior treatment programs before this one, each time promising it would be different.
She had heard that promise before. She knew exactly what came next, and she wasn't willing to watch it happen again without trying everything she could.
Under Florida law, once a person leaves a voluntary placement, there's no legal authority to hold them without a court order already in place, and by the time most families learn that, the person is already gone. Without immediate action, the family was looking at another cycle of crisis, and every relapse after this one carried statistically higher risk than the last, both medically and legally.
This wasn't a matter of days to plan around, or even an afternoon. The window was measured in hours, and it was already closing while his mother was still explaining the situation over the phone.
That assessment, completed under §397.693 F.S., confirmed what the family already knew: continued treatment was necessary, and voluntary compliance alone wasn't going to get him there. The court ordered 90 days of involuntary treatment.
He rebuilt his career too, one step at a time. His mother still calls our office every year, on the anniversary of the filing date, not to check on the case or ask what's next. Just to say thank you. That call is the reason this work matters.
Why Families Across Florida Call Us First
Prosecutor, then defense
Before any of this was a law firm, Mark Astor was a prosecutor. He spent years in a Palm Beach County courtroom, then crossed over to defense work.
A reason to remember
Somewhere along the way, he realized he'd lost the reason he became a lawyer, the sense that his work actually helped people. People he loved were fighting substance use disorders, and he watched what that fight does to a family from the inside.
Finding the Marchman Act
That's how he found the Marchman Act, and it's why he built an entire firm around it instead of bolting it onto a general practice.
Both sides of the courtroom
That courtroom experience still works for you today. Mark has stood on both sides of a criminal case, so he knows how the criminal justice system and behavioral health law intersect, and how to keep your family out of the wrong one.
Most firms file the petition and stop there. We run the legal strategy and the clinical placement together, as one case, from the first call.
"Respond decisively during moments of crisis while remaining within the boundaries of the law" — by combining legal authority with case management.
"I don't measure success by whether we got the order. I measure it by whether the person is alive and in recovery a year later. The legal intervention is the beginning. Not the end.
Mark G. Astor, Esq. · Astor Simovitch Law
When you hire us, you get one team handling both halves of this at once: the legal strategy and the clinical placement. Most firms only file the petition and hand you a list of treatment centers to call yourself. We built this firm so no family has to coordinate that alone while everything else in their life is falling apart. That's what "We Save Families" actually means. It's also why that first call matters more than it might seem.
The sooner we're on a case, the more options are still open.
The emergency window, the evidence, the right bed at the right facility.
Twenty minutes on the phone tells you exactly where you stand, and it costs you nothing to find out.
They saved my life. This firm is filled with good people who genuinely care about YOU their client. Beyond that, they have the expertise to make sure that you are protected against the stupidity of the world around you.
I am grateful to this firm and Mr. Astor for their assistance in saving my son's life.
I sincerely believe my son is alive today due to the Marchman Act.
What Life Could Be Like
The phone rings, and it isn't the call you've been dreading. You go a week, then a month, without checking on your loved one every few hours just to know they're still alive. You get to be their family again in a conversation, not just the people managing their crisis. Sunday dinner has room for something other than damage control.
None of that erases the disease. Recovery isn't a straight line, and there will still be hard days. But it means the legal window stayed open long enough to matter, the right clinical team is already in place, and for the first time in a long time, you're not carrying any of it alone.
We Don't Take Every Case.
That's not a disclaimer. It's how we protect you.
Ask us anything. As many questions as you have. Nothing you're going to say is something we haven't heard before. Here's exactly what happens on that call:
Tell us what's been happening. We ask direct questions. Nothing you say is going to surprise us.
We tell you honestly what the law can accomplish in your specific situation. And what it can't. No runaround.
If we're the right fit, we move quickly. If we're not, we make a personal introduction to someone we know and trust.
Either way, you leave the call knowing exactly where you stand. That's the promise.
You've been carrying this long enough. Call us. We'll figure out the rest together.
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Marchman Act Process
What is the Marchman Act in Florida?
The Marchman Act is a Florida civil law, Chapter 397 of the Florida Statutes, that allows families and others to petition the court for court-ordered assessment and treatment for a person who is severely impaired by substance abuse and refuses voluntary help.
It's not a criminal proceeding. Your loved one isn't arrested or charged. The goal is medical intervention and recovery. A judge reviews the evidence, and if the legal criteria under §397.675 F.S. are met, can order your loved one into assessment and treatment even over their objection.
Who can file a Marchman Act petition in Florida?
A spouse, parent, adult child, sibling, or any three adults with firsthand knowledge of the person's substance abuse can file a Marchman Act petition under Florida law.
The reality is, you don't need to be a family member. A concerned friend, a treatment provider, or a law enforcement officer can also initiate the process. What matters is that the petitioner has direct, personal knowledge of the impairment, not secondhand accounts. Courts take the quality of that firsthand evidence seriously.
What's the difference between the Marchman Act and the Baker Act?
The Baker Act covers mental health emergencies. The Marchman Act covers substance abuse. They're separate Florida laws with different criteria, different processes, and different legal rights for the respondent.
Here's the thing: the two often overlap. Someone in a substance abuse crisis may have an underlying psychiatric condition. Someone under the Baker Act may also be substance-impaired. When both are present, the right legal strategy depends on which condition is primarily driving the crisis. We work through that with families before filing anything, because the wrong tool wastes time you don't have.
How long does the Marchman Act process take in Florida?
After a petition is filed, a hearing must be scheduled within 10 days. The initial assessment period is up to 5 days. Court-ordered treatment can last up to 90 days, with a possible 90-day extension.
In practice, timelines vary by county. Some Florida circuits move faster than others. Emergency Ex Parte orders can bypass the hearing timeline entirely when immediate danger exists. Getting the filing right the first time, without procedural errors that cause delays, is what experienced attorneys focus on. A dismissed petition doesn't just waste time. It can make refiling harder.
Can I file a Marchman Act petition without a lawyer?
Yes. Florida law allows any concerned person to file a Marchman Act petition without having to hire an attorney.
Bottom line? The moment you file, the court appoints an attorney for your loved one, free of charge. You'll be presenting evidence to a judge while the respondent has legal representation and you don't. Petitions get denied because of technical errors, insufficient documentation, and evidence that doesn't meet the legal standard. Those are exactly the kinds of errors the respondent's attorney will look for. The filing fee is zero. The cost of a dismissed petition is measured in weeks and risk.
What happens if my loved one refuses to comply with the court order?
If a respondent fails to comply with a Marchman Act order, the court can enforce it through legal mechanisms including issuing a bench warrant.
Non-compliance doesn't end the case. It triggers a return to court. We handle that process and, where appropriate, file to extend the treatment order for an additional 90 days under §397.693 F.S. Active monitoring during the treatment period is one of the most important things an attorney does in these cases. Most families don't realize the legal process doesn't stop at the order.
How much does the Marchman Act cost in Florida?
There is no court filing fee for a Marchman Act petition. A $40 service fee is paid to the sheriff for serving the respondent
Attorney fees vary by firm and case complexity. Treatment costs are separate and depend on the facility. level of care. and insurance coverage. We help families work through both. including exploring SSI. Medicare. Medicaid. and private insurance options before and during the process. Financial complexity shouldn't be the reason a family doesn't act.
Three Terms Worth Understanding
A court-ordered examination of a person's substance abuse condition conducted by a qualified professional, without the person's consent.
In Florida, the initial assessment period lasts up to five days. What happens during those five days determines whether the court orders treatment, releases the person, or schedules further proceedings. The quality of the facility matters as much as the legal order that puts someone there.
Under Florida law, the assessment must be completed by a qualified professional who submits written findings to the court. The court then holds a treatment services hearing where both sides can present evidence.
A court order granted by a judge based on one party's evidence, without requiring a hearing or notifying the respondent first.
In Marchman Act cases, an Ex Parte emergency order allows law enforcement to transport a person to assessment immediately. It's the fastest legal pathway available under Florida law, and it requires an attorney who understands exactly when the legal standard is met and how to present that to a judge quickly.
Most families learn this option exists only after they've already missed the window for it. If your loved one is in crisis right now, this is the first question to ask.
The formal legal document that initiates a Marchman Act case. It must contain documented evidence that the respondent meets the criteria under §397.693 F.S. impaired by substance abuse, unable to control that use, and at risk of harm.
The petition is filed with the circuit court clerk in the county where the respondent lives. A single technical deficiency gives the respondent's attorney grounds to challenge it. The burden of proof is on the petitioner, not the respondent.
There is no court filing fee. A $40 service fee is required when the sheriff serves the respondent with notice of the petition and hearing date.
That usually means it's time to talk.
