Update: The day I found the divorce papers in the laundry basket
I was in the garage sorting clothes for wash around 3pm on a Tuesday. Found a sealed envelope buried under my husband's gym shirts. Inside was a draft of the divorce petition he'd printed from a legal site. I didn't confront him right away. Instead I scanned it, put everything back exactly where I found it, and called a lawyer the next morning. He filed two weeks later without ever telling me he had that draft ready. Anyone else find evidence before the actual conversation happened?
Three weeks. That's how long my ex had a printed separation agreement in his nightstand drawer before he ever said a word to me. I found it when I was looking for a lost earring, which is such a cliche but it really happened. I gotta say though, I don't see this the same way you do. You scanning and hiding it, then getting your own lawyer in secret - that's basically the same game he was playing, just with a different start time. Maybe I'm old school, but I think finding something like that means you've got an edge to have the real conversation, not to start plotting your own secret moves.
Wait, you actually found a separation agreement in a nightstand drawer? That's next level. My ex just left his password saved on the family computer like an amateur.
But here's the thing - I get what you're saying about having an edge for the real conversation, but in my defense, I found his lawyer's business card in the junk drawer first. That's not an edge, that's a warning shot. I wasn't trying to start a secret war, I was just trying to catch up. Though honestly, if I'd found a whole printed agreement, I probably would have taken a picture with my phone and then tried to act normal for way too long, which is basically the same as hiding it.