• Divorce is not the only solution to an unhappy marriage.mari??s image by JLG from Fotolia.com
  
  The decision to divorce is very difficult for many people. For others, religious or personal beliefs prohibit divorce altogether. The divorce process takes time to complete and can be emotionally and financially devastating. For couples who do not want to divorce, at least not immediately, there are a number of alternative options to explore.
  
  

Remain in the Marriage

• A couple may decide that the pain and inconvenience of divorce outweighs the consequences of staying in an unhappy marriage. For example, divorce often leads to one spouse losing health insurance coverage. This is unacceptable to some people. Couples may opt for a "parallel marriage" where the spouses stay married and continue to live together but lead relatively separate lives.
  
  

Counseling

• Counseling is an option for unhappy couples who do not want to divorce for religious, financial, parental or other personal reasons. Counseling will only be successful with the help of a competent professional and the sincere dedication of both spouses. The counseling process is arduous and, in the short term, may be as painful as divorce.
  
  

Informal Separation

• Informal separation occurs where the spouses live apart and maintain separate lives, but do legally recognize the separation. This alternative allows the parties to work out for themselves how they will deal with financial and other obligations. An informal separation can also be a "trial separation" for parties who are considering divorce but have not come to a final conclusion. An informal separation is easily reversible.
  
  

Legal Separation

• Some states recognize legal separation. A legal separation occurs when the parties ask the court to recognize the marital split. Legal separations can be advantageous because they financially sever the parties to some degree. This means that one spouse may not be responsible for the financial decisions of the other spouse after the date of the separation. Reversing a legal separation is easier than reversing a divorce, but more difficult than reversing an informal separation.
  
  

Annulment

• Legal annulment is available in limited circumstances. Whether a specific marriage can be annulled will depend on state law. Common grounds for annulment include incompetence, age of the parties and failure to consummate the marriage. Legal annulment is different than annulment by a religious institution and usually requires the advice of a lawyer.