Many spouses ignore the alarms of discontent that their partner has been ringing for years. To them, none of the complaints sounded like they might end up leading to divorce. When their spouse “suddenly” announces that he or she is moving out, wants to end the marriage, or has even already filed for divorce, the ground below shakes like an earthquake. Is there any way, at that last-ditch point, to stop a divorce?  

Couples counselors have seen thousands of clients on the brink of divorce—even some who've already filed papers—and successfully helped them navigate back to a happy place. Here, we asked two prominent couples therapists to share their best divorce-stopping tactics and lay out an action plan for couples on the verge of a split.

This article is a general overview of divorce laws around the world. Every nation in the world allows its residents to divorce under some conditions except the Philippines (though Muslims in the Philippines have the right to divorce) and the Vatican City, an ecclesiastical sovereign city-state, which has no procedure for divorce. In these two countries, laws only allow annulment of marriages.