If their marriage has problems, and either is considering divorce, the couple agrees in advance to seek professional help to save their marriage. A divorce is possible but a person who wants a divorce needs to prove their partner is at fault, due to adultery, conviction of a felony, drug, alcohol or emotional abuse, abandonment or separation for two years. Opponents contend that schools have too much to do in preparing young people for adult life. Other Florida legislation encourages couples to take a four-hour course before marriage. Couples who don't take the course would have to wait three days after getting their marriage license before they could take their vows.
Community groups can offer marriage preparation and enrichment courses.
Some churches require such courses before a marriage within the church. Marriage education courses have been shown to reduce divorce, especially those courses that focus on relationship skills. In a review of 12 studies of marriage preparation programs, Paul Giblin found that the average participant was better off than 69 percent of those who didn't participate. Of course, strengthening a marriage begins first and foremost with the individual married couple in the privacy of their own home, but we can learn much about strengthening our marriages from those whose marriages are doing well. For example, John Gottman of the University of Washington studied 130 newly wed couples over six years to see what processes contributed most to marital success.