Getting Help for a Loved One with The Florida Marchman Act

The Florida Marchman Act statute is a law in the state of Florida that was created to help families get loved ones the treatment they need for substance abuse. The way it works is that when someone you love isn't willing to help themselves, you can present them with court orders, and have them held for medical evaluation for a period of five days. Filing the paperwork for this procedure is like any other court procedure, and it is advised that you hire an attorney to help guide you in the process. If you know someone who needs help, continue reading to find out your options so you can help them find the right substance abuse services today. Invoking The Marchman Act So you know someone who desperately needs help, and you're thinking about invoking the Florida Marchman Act statute upon them? In general, there are three different groups of people that can help someone in need—either a blood relative, a spouse, or a group of three people who have specific and direct knowledge of the individual's substance abuse. If you fall under one of these three categories, you qualify to help someone in need through this act. Proving That They Need Help In order to help someone you care about, you must be able to prove that they're truly in need of help. In order to meet this requirement, you must prove that they have lost all self-control when it comes to abusing substances. It must be evident that they cannot help themselves any longer, and if they continue on the path they're on, they're at risk harming themselves, or someone they come into contact with. In addition, you must also be able to prove that they don't care about their own well-being, and that they don't hold any sort of rational thought regarding their own care. If all of these facts can be shown to exist in court, and the person you're seeking to invoke the Marchman Act upon refuses to get the help they need, then you have the capacity to help them. Filing The Paperwork The first step in filing the Marchman Act paperwork is to submit a petition stating that you seek to have the person you're trying to help get assessed and evaluated through medical stabilization. After you submit this petition, the person can then be held up to five days for that evaluation. During this time, a recommendation will be made to the court based on the doctors overall evaluation of the individual. After this step, it will be necessary for you to file another petition for treatment, and have a second court hearing as a result. Based on the previous recommendations, the judge will then decide whether to order the person into treatment for up to sixty days, with an extension if necessary. Once the person is in treatment, they are not allowed to leave, and if they do, they'll be at risk of going back to court, and ultimately to jail if they resist. One of the main advantages of hiring an attorney to help file the Marchman Act paperwork is that the entire process is sped up and handled by people who understand the process. They can get the individual you're trying to help into substance abuse services with the quickest route possible. After all, you likely can't afford to wait for the court process when you're trying to help someone you care about.