Pat, Very interesting. I know what area you are describing. I have had many family members who have lived in the LA area over the past century and have always been intrigued by current surface owners who may actually own minerals there. It is interesting to hear stories about people who still get royalties from wells drilled decades ago. Sometimes people (like you) get lucky and something slipped through and you got an unexpected royalty. Unfortunately it is quite late. I usually advise friends / family to verify their mineral rights. Just because someone “said” something about minerals, doesn’t mean anything. I want to see the chain of title (deed records) for myself. I worked in the title industry before and have seen too many things slip through the cracks. With oil and gas (minerals) I believe the chance of errors is even greater, because there is less understanding about it than other (more common) title issues. There was recently a case here in Texas that a subdivision developer tried to “reserve” the mineral rights on his plat, but never had a reservation on the deeds to homeowners. Court ruled against developer. In that case I’m not sure a well was ever drilled resulting in royalties but the homeowners would have gotten it if they did (no paying the wrong owner). Keep me informed on your case if you would. You are the second person in the past year from the LA area that has had this issue where they found out they were owed royalties and had their home for two decades.