The good news for all of the married couples out there is that the U.S. divorce rate has gone down over the last decade. Fewer married couples are calling it quits these days for one reason or another.

But the bad news is that there are still some married couples that have made the decision to separate or divorce. This should cause you at least a little bit of concern if your marriage is on the rocks right now.

If you and your spouse are considering trying to separate or divorce, there are several things you should think about first. Learn all about them in our guide below.

You Should Give Serious Thought to Your Situation Before You Ask to Separate or Divorce

You shouldn’t ever tell your spouse that you would like to separate or divorce on a whim. Prior to asking them to separate or divorce, you should think long and hard about your situation and make sure that you’re making the right call.

Once you request to separate or divorce from your spouse, the genie is going to be out of the bottle. There might not be any coming back from it. So it would be smart for you to look at your situation from every angle prior to doing anything rash.

This Marriage Helper article breaks down some of the most important things for you to consider before you ask to separate or divorce.

You Should Make Every Effort to Save Your Marriage Before You Separate or Divorce

When you and your spouse first got married, you both promised to stick together through thick and thin. It’s why you should commit to fighting for your marriage every step of the way, even when you’re thinking that you might want to separate or divorce.

You should sign up for marriage counseling or couples therapy with your spouse. Or you should go through a short (!) trial separation while promising to continue to communicate with your spouse.

Your goal should be not to separate or divorce if you can. That would be the ideal outcome of this entire situation.

You Should Take Your Time If You Ultimately Decide to Separate or Divorce

If you feel like you have no other choice but to separate or divorce from your spouse, you should read up on the ins and outs of separation vs. divorce. You should also weigh the pros and cons of divorce vs. legal separation.

Whatever you do, you shouldn’t rush right into anything at first. If your marriage is headed towards you and your spouse trying to separate or divorce, you should make calculated moves at all times. It will benefit you in the long run.

See If It’s Time for You and Your Spouse to Separate or Divorce

At this point, you know what needs to be done before you tell your spouse that you would prefer to separate or divorce. You should do these things to give your marriage one last chance.

If they don’t help matters any, it might mean your marriage is definitely over. But you’ll sleep better at night knowing that you gave it your all.

Check out our other blog articles to get more advice on going through a separation or a divorce.