Another revision breakthrough with my second horror novel Monstrous occurred as I talked to a family law expert and discovered that a codicil is a change or addition to a last will and testament. Also, I discovered that a will, under Canadian estate law, does not have to be read aloud to the family or or other beneficiaries. More later. And I know that in a different life, I could probably talk to a friend who has intimate knowledge about some aspects of Canadian family estate law but, alas, I can't, hence the call to our lawyer.
In my book, I already have a videotaped testament that is separate from the reading of the will, and occurs months after the bulk of the estate has been divided among family, friends and employees. So, I have inadvertently written this verisimilitude into the story quite by accident. My characters need to be shocked and surprised by this new information. Further, a significant plot point hinges on this videotaped confession. The story beat, luckily, remains intact, because it is crucial to the infrastructure of the book. Fortunate novelist!
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