My family group, owns a small amount of mineral rights. My niece and nephew have expressed the desire to sell their shares as opposed to leasing them. Myself and my daughter wish to buy them. What is the precedure to follow to get this sale registered in the county in Oklahoma it’s located in? Is a bill of sale sufficient documentation? Sent to the County Clerk? It is a very small holding and not worth consulting a lawyer. I would appreciate any advise . Thank you!
I am a mineral owner and not an attorney, but I am in the process of transferring mineral rights from a trust to individual owners/beneficiaries and we are using a deed to transfer ownership. I strongly recommend getting legal advice as this is a sale of property and will likely need to be transferred by deed and then filed with the appropriate county clerk.
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It is a very simple process. you can not believe some of the Mineral Deeds I see. Make sure you get a good description of the minerals enocupassed in the deal. You can be as vague as you want when it applies to description of the actual interest owned and simply state it is the intent of Grantee to purchase any mineral owned by grantor or the opposite as it is the in tent of Grantor to sell to grantee any and all mineral interests owned in ..blah blah blah whether correctly described or not. Many folks include a after acquired title clause of sorts and/or a clause that specifies that, as the end of the of the previous sentence somewhat covers, if later discovered, minerals or interests related to this transfer are found to be vested in grantor, those interests will be same as if they were described in this deed. But, do everyone a favor researching title in the future and reference a previous deed haha
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Your post mentioned “family group” and “shares” but didn’t really explain what you mean by those terms. If the title to the mineral rights is in the name of four individuals, then the selling parties would likely need to execute a proper deed to the buying parties.
On the other hand, if the “family group” is a partnership, corporation or trust, then the procedure is different. A deed might not be necessary and a bill of sale of “shares” may be all that is needed. (The title to the mineral rights stays in the name of the partnership, corporation or trust.)
Either way, I would highly recommend that you retain an attorney to advise you and prepare the necessary documentation correctly. If it is done incorrectly and the transfer is ineffective (and especially if turns out that leasing the rights was the better economic option), it’s possible that the selling parties might try to undo the transaction.
Mineral rights are real property rights just like any other deed for land. So, a deed is appropriate and a bill of sale is a contract. Lots of problems with going that route.
We” are 2 Sisters and several nieces and nephews who have inherited a very small number of acres of mineral rights. We have never had an actual paper deed. Our title to these rights is registered in with the County Clerk and we have copies of previous leases but no “deed” . Should/could we try and get a paper deed? My parents were the original owners and they did not have an actual deed either.
Deeds and title are not the same thing. A deed is an instrument given by an owner to a buyer or grantee. If you inherited the property you interest is likely expressed in the land records which may include probate orders, affidavits of heirship etc. The clerk does not issue deeds. You may have title to minerals/land even if you never received a deed.
This post is not legal, tax or investment advice. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney/client relationship.
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Ms. Laymon, you will require a mineral deed for this transaction. A Bill of Sale is used for specific purposes in this type of transaction and will require the involvement of a professional to assist you. OK requires a specific legal description for the Clerk to properly index the property in the records to provide public notice. Language such as “any and all property” or “later discovered” is not a sufficient legal description for OK filing requirements. That type of language only provides “Color of Title” or “Intent” which must be followed with a new deed from the Grantor to convey the interest. At a minimum, you should attempt to obtain a copy of the document that vested ownership in you and your family members. Good luck
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I think all of the replies here are helpful, particularly those that you received after your second post supplying further information. I am not an attorney, but I do think the advice you received that you will likely need one or more mineral rights deeds is correct. If you supply some more information, I think you will receive some more pertinent advice. There are several questions that come to mind from your first two posts, but I think most critical at this point is your statement that your interest in “these rights is registered in with the County Clerk”. I am assuming (from other information that you supplied) that you are referring to some sort of probate documentation for one or both of your parents. Is that correct? And when you refer to the “County Clerk”, are you referring to a court clerk or to the clerk overseeing the real estate records for the county?
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Thank you for your reply James. Would we acquire a copy of whatever documentation is available from the County Clerk of Records?
You will start with the county clerk. Your research may take you to the court clerk depending on the document. This can be a confusing and complex task, so you may want to get professional involved at some point.
I am referring to the Clerk of records at the county. We are very familiar with the history of the titles but have no documentation. The mineral rights came down from my Grandfather Grant Finch. He sold the family farm to his Son Clayton but kept the mineral rights. Which were passed to his 7 children. My Father was one of the 7.
You can go back to 1991 online in Caddo. Beyond that requires an onsite examination of the clerk’s records.
Anyone can sign a lease, when it comes to an operator paying on that lease if there is production, the minerals will be held in suspense as the title wont be clean. If theres ever production on the property, at some point youre going to have get a probate or work with the operator to file Affidavits on the property. If your parents were never deeded the property and you were never deeded the property, its not going to be an easy process getting clean title on it.
We are owners of record. My parents were paid when there was an active well. Affidavits have been filed.
@SUSAN_FINCH_LAYMON Affidavits of Heirship are a route to getting on pay, but there can be a stumbling block which is what @Bob77 informing you. At some point companies may require an action to create marketable title. In this time of very loose DO and “On Pay” requirements, people can be surprised by a title requirement when new wells are drilled. Just be aware of the possibility.
Technically, you arent the owners of record, since your parents/nor you have a deed into your name(s). Just because 1 operator waived the comment/requirements and were fine with AOH’s, doesnt mean the next operator will be so gracious. Just letting you know, if a strict operator drills a well on your property, you will have a lot of hoops to jump through, so that you arent surprised by the amount of paperwork youll have to file if/when that day comes. To answer your original question, you should be able to find a standard Oklahoma Mineral Deed to download and alter the info needed. Make sure you have the correct section, township, range and you can put ALL for the legal description and under the intent paragraph, it is the intent of the grantors to convey any and all right title and intererst that they may own at the time of this conveyance in the above described section(s) unto the Grantee
Thank you! There are so many in’s and out’s involved! It is a little overwhelming for this old brain!! So. I take it we would be wise to start now? Is it possible that there is a “deed” on file that we are not aware of? If I call the County Clerk at Andarko, would it be possible to find out what documentation backs up our ownership and possibly get copies?
I am sorry if this sounds very amateurish, but I am! The more I learn, the confuseder I get!!
Thank you James. 
Im 78 years old, I feel ya on the old brain! If you call the County Clerk, be very nice and tell them that youre up in their age and wondering if they could find a deed into your parents name or your name and give them the section township and range, Id bet one of the workers would do it for you.
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