When you consider that the divorce rate among couples is over 50 percent, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that most roommate relationships don’t work out, either, but what are the most effective ways to end a relationship without it turning ugly. Here are a few tips.

It is important to stay honest and calm, no matter how ugly or animated the conversation gets with your roommate when you decide to move out or decide to tell them to move out. Deciding who moves can be a bit point of contention, especially when both of you have your names on the lease. If only one of you does, than it becomes a pretty cut and dried affair. Make sure you give your roommate plenty of notice so they can find a new place. Expecting them to move out overnight or within a week is completely unreasonable.

Resolving any lingering money disputes can also be a huge point of contention. For a situation like this, you may need to enlist the help of a professional arbitrator to get you through. Many states and even some Canadian provinces have arbitration systems in place for dispute resolution between roommates and even between tenants and landlords. If you don’t have an arbitrator you can use, check out the possibility of using your landlord to decide your dispute for you. It is important that both parties understand that the ruling is binding and that you both have to abide by it, or the whole exercise is pointless.