I’ve recently signed a lease that has been decided as paying me only 1/4 of what I’d thought I’d get. Here is the shortest way I can describe it… many years ago 160 acres was divided amongst 5 people. 1 of those 5 is my grandmother and she & my father have both passed. So myself and another are heirs to the 32 acres - giving us 16 each.
Thats the easy part. The real ? is – 3 years after the division of 1/5 to my grandmother she then submitted a 1/10 ‘Warranty Deed’ to another party. According to the Oil Co. now, the 1/10 comes from the overall 160 gross acres and not her inherited 32 net. If the 1/10 came from only her slice of 32 net it’s benefitting me more.
Am I to accept this as fact? It seems strange to me that 1/10 can be handed over when 4/5 are other heirs slices of the pie.
You are mixing gross acres and net acres. The legal description is 160 acres. When it was divided, each heir got 1/5 of the 160 acres. So a lease would describe the 160 acre tract, and the owner would be paid on 1/5 of the 160 acres = 32 NMA (net mineral acres). If your grandmother sold 1/10 of her interest, the buyer got 1/10 X 1/5 X 160 acres = 3.2 NMA. That left your grandmother with 9/10 X 1/5 x 160 = 28.8 NMA. Your father got the 28.8 NMA. You get 1/2 X 9/10 X1/5 X 160 acres = 14.4 NMA out of the 160 acres. Each of the other 4 original heirs each still would have 1/5 X 160 acres = 32 NMA. Of course, each interest has likely been subdivided since then.
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I hear ya! Huge help, so thank you. Unfortunately, it’s a 1971 ‘Warranty Deed’ and according to their landman (and Oil Co. lawyer) the wording of this particular document isnt specific enough to side on the Net Mineral Acre (N.M.A.) side which would’ve been the 3.2 N.M.A.
The way the Warranty Deed is worded is, “An undivided 1/10th right, title and interest in and to the following described property:” (goes onto list the section specifics totaling 160).
So their stating it’s 1/10 of the gross 160 making it 16 N.M.A. of my grandmothers / Dad’s 32 N.M.A given away here. Kind of a bummer as it’s much less in this case and it sounds like they’ve seen these dubious wordings before.
Deeds need to be read in their entirety to determine the effect, not just an excerpt. You should have your own lawyer review and give you his opinion.
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