My wife and her two siblings biological father gave up his parental rights when they were young and they were adopted by their mothers husband at that time. They were notified by Echo Energy, LLC that they are heirs to mineral rights in of their biological fathers. They have obtained his death certificate and I think now they have to go to Grady county court house. We have no idea what needs to be done now. They have also obtained copies of the adoption papers from OKC courts. There's my wife and her two siblings and six cousins that have yet to sign leases. Also, none of us know anything about mineral leases.
I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could help us with:
1. What do we need to do now that we have the certified death certificate and copies of the adoption papers?
2. If needed, does anyone know of a good attorney that specializes in oil leases and heirs that were adopted?
3. How do we find out if the offer we are receiving is fair for the area the mineral rights are located?
4. How do we find out exactly where this land is?
Echo Energy, LLC is offering the lease.
It's in Grady County, Sec 23, Township 6N, Range 5W. 90 acres, for three years.
$2400 lease bonus and royalty on production will be 3/16th
Any other information you think would help us would be greatly Appreciated.
Let me address question no. 1. When an owner dies, while the children, biological and adopted own the interest at the moment of the owner's death, the title to the interest doesn't become marketable (or clean) until a probate is done.
So, a probate or an estate proceeding will need to be done in Grady county or the county (in Oklahoma) where he died, if applicable.
Normally, until there is production of o&g, there isn't a real urgency to getting the probate done. But, in this situation, I would suggest you move relatively quickly. Primarily, so his other heirs, who may not know of your wife and her siblings, don't have an estate proceeding done, leaving out your wife. In other words, if there are other heirs, you don't want them telling the court that there are no other heirs.
I am adopted and the mineral rights that I inherited are from my adoptive family. When your wife and her siblings were adopted by their mother's husband, they essentially lost all rights to anything belonging to the biological father and became heirs of the adoptive father. Unless there is a will naming your wife and her siblings as heirs, it is possible they have no claim to these mineral rights. Before they go forward and accept any money on this land, make sure there is a will naming them as heirs or they may wind up having to pay that money back.
With all due respect to Ms. Newborg, the above is not a true statement in Oklahoma.
Despite subsequent amendments, 10 O.S. Supp.1995 § 7006-1.3 has consistently stated that termination of parental rights does not “in any way affect the right of the child to inherit from the parent.” Matter of the Estate of Flowers, 1993 OK 19, 848 P.2d 1146, 1151. This statement is consistent with the laws of descent and distribution, as well as those concerning adoption.
This may be true, I know in my situation I have no rights to the estates of my biological family and, depending on when the laws were changed it may be different in Oklahoma. I do believe this is something that would have to be looked into. Does and adoptee in Oklahoma also have rights to their adopted parents estate as I do?
While verifying heirship of mineral rights in WV, I was told that my cousins, who were adopted as children (my uncle released his parental rights and did not leave a will) were not considered heirs of my grandmother's mineral rights.
I believe Tim is correct. A parent who gives up their rights to a child cannot inherit from that child (unless a probated will says otherwise). However, the child can inherit from the parent that gave up their rights. That is the case in Texas and I believe Oklahoma as well.