All-
I just recently discovered this fact. I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask the professionals on this site.
The individual who researched, signed and filed our AoH was a non accredited genealogist but she states to our executor in a phone conversation that she is in fact a professional in this field and who she is representing. The executor then writes to us in an email regarding this phone conversation. According to www.apgen.org this person is not a member, nor has she ever been a member.
I'm not concerned presently. I know that in this business, often times, fields of specialization overlap. But I was curious......
See answers below. Regardless of how the need arises, who is more likely to hire, pay, or contract out a person to research, sign and file an affidavit of heirship on a family's behalf? Are there trends in this field? Are there norms? Are there red flags? Is one answer more significant than the other? If so, do you have examples? Or is it just a big nothing to worry about?
a. A third party land company
b. an heir
c. an executor (s)
Anyone have any experience with this?
Thank you!
What I have seen, as an amateur researcher, is that it is usually an oil and gas company or a company hired by them to research, that gets and files affidavits of heirship. I know of a family that filed their own, following examples found online.
I have seen these be prepared by geneaologists and also by family members, using a form probably provided by the company.
I have seen this in Tyler, wetzel, Ritchie, and Doddridge counties. I can't think of a good way to search except by looking around.
Just my experience.
Maybe the one who spoke with your executor is a "professional" in that she is being paid to do it but not a member of the professional organization.
Hi Nancy!
I have more questions on this then. What’s a typical scenario then? I’m most certain a Landman chased us …
So who initiates the AOH form? And why? Our situation was very different.
Also, how do Find a WV attorney? I’ll be honest, there were 2 I contacted last year that were so outrageous in price to just review basic leases, I was floored. As it turns out, I might’ve needed to suck it up and pay anyway. Now I need one for a follow up. Ugh
Thx for your help
Thank you.
I think often the Affidavit of Heirship is used when someone dies without a will. When an oil and gas company wants to lease a property, it needs all the owners to sign leases. Often the original owner, someone who had a farm in WV in the nineteenth century and decided to sell the farm but retain the minerals (at least oil and gas), moves out of the county or even out of state and if there are no wells on the tract, maybe even no lease, this person forgets about the oil and gas rights. Often the rights are not put on the tax records due to how things were done in a particular county. Then the owner dies, without a will, and the children inherit. They don't know about the oil and gas rights, and maybe some of them die without wills. Eventually a landman from the gas company finds the heirs, and to make the connection to the original owner, needs to have paperwork filed in the county. The affidavits of heirship are the way to deal with this when there is no will. I have heard that some counties prefer the AoH even when there is a will.
I have also known of people who knew that they had an interest in oil and gas rights but these rights were not on the tax records, and the procedure to get that done is expensive and complicated. The easiest and quickest thing is to file an affidavit so that they are connected with their ancestor who owned the rights.
There is a website for Tyler county online records Tyler county online records
This has two parts, for taxes and documents.
On the documents part, you need to allow Silverlight to run (I think).
If you do that, soon you will see a button "right click" at the top of the page, and when you right click on it you can download the software to view the old documents.
You can use these databases to search the records. If you know your family tree, you can search the names and see what you find in the deeds.
The old records website can be a little tricky to get used to, so if you get it downloaded and have trouble, please ask again.