i just learned that my deceased father left me mineral rights in ward county north dakota. he has been dead for 11 years. can i lose these rights if i didnt act to have these put in my name. is there a time statute, or a deadline? thank you !
Michael:
You need to action on getting these minerals in your name. North Dakota does have a dormant minerals law that requires you to file a claim on mineral interests every 20 or risk losing them to the surface estate. I believe that this is stated in the Century Code under "Termination of Mineral Interests" found in Chapter 38-18.1 Actions needed to taken in regards to making a claim is either enter into a lease or file just a statement of claim. I beleive that this statement of claim is filed with the County Clerks office.
Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:
Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
Captain Skittles:
No use refers to the fact that no action (leasing, filing a statement of claim) has been made in regards to the mineral interests in the past 20 years. This needs to be watched carefully in order not to lose what is legally yours. I don't beleive that this is a widespread problem in Western ND counties due to all the activity over the past few years. It is something that all mineral owners should be aware of as this could become a nightmare.
Captain Skittles said:
When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
thanks kindly to all responding! as far as i know, no claim has been filed in over 20 yrs. my fathers rights represented a percentage of 160 acres, there has been action on the mineral rights on the land in 1980, 1987, 1995,and 2008 ie sale of a share, transfer of deed, or title. does this activity " reset the 20 year clock?" ward county recorder tells me yesterday, the title is still in my fathers name. thank you.
charles s mallory said:
Captain Skittles:
No use refers to the fact that no action (leasing, filing a statement of claim) has been made in regards to the mineral interests in the past 20 years. This needs to be watched carefully in order not to lose what is legally yours. I don't beleive that this is a widespread problem in Western ND counties due to all the activity over the past few years. It is something that all mineral owners should be aware of as this could become a nightmare.
Captain Skittles said:When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
michael john hassler said:
thanks kindly to all responding! as far as i know, no claim has been filed in over 20 yrs. my fathers rights represented a percentage of 160 acres, there has been action on the mineral rights on the land in 1980, 1987, 1995,and 2008 ie sale of a share, transfer of deed, or title. does this activity " reset the 20 year clock?" ward county recorder tells me yesterday, the title is still in my fathers name. thank you.
charles s mallory said:Captain Skittles:
No use refers to the fact that no action (leasing, filing a statement of claim) has been made in regards to the mineral interests in the past 20 years. This needs to be watched carefully in order not to lose what is legally yours. I don't beleive that this is a widespread problem in Western ND counties due to all the activity over the past few years. It is something that all mineral owners should be aware of as this could become a nightmare.
Captain Skittles said:When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
Michael:
Don't worry about these past actions as your priority is to get these minerals in your name. It sounds like activity has occurred but the main problem is that the minerals are still in your fathers name. Good luck.
michael john hassler said:
thanks kindly to all responding! as far as i know, no claim has been filed in over 20 yrs. my fathers rights represented a percentage of 160 acres, there has been action on the mineral rights on the land in 1980, 1987, 1995,and 2008 ie sale of a share, transfer of deed, or title. does this activity " reset the 20 year clock?" ward county recorder tells me yesterday, the title is still in my fathers name. thank you.
charles s mallory said:Captain Skittles:
No use refers to the fact that no action (leasing, filing a statement of claim) has been made in regards to the mineral interests in the past 20 years. This needs to be watched carefully in order not to lose what is legally yours. I don't beleive that this is a widespread problem in Western ND counties due to all the activity over the past few years. It is something that all mineral owners should be aware of as this could become a nightmare.
Captain Skittles said:When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.
In ND a statement of claim need not be complicated. Use "STATEMENT OF CLAIM" as the title. Your name and contact address, legal descriptions of the mineral acres, what you are claiming (insert laundty list of minerals here, oil, gas, potash, uranium, gravel, scoria and any other minerals. State that the purpose is to prevent your claim/rights from being extinguished. Have it notorized, as special conditions must be met for someone else to do it on your behalf, make sure to leave 1 1/4 inches in the right margin and 3 1/2 inches at the bottom if using a single page, otherwise spend a couple dollars for a second page so the recorder has room for their seal, barcode and index information. It can probably be legibly handwritten if you have to. I'd call the Ward county recorder and get their fee schedule to record and send a money order. You could have it done by friday with a cheap priority mail cardboard envelope.
Michael,
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/statementclaim.pdf
This form is on the NDIC and can be printed out and filled in, then notarized and sent to the County Recorder. If you need the mailing address to the Ward County Recorder, you can go to NDRIN.com and click on Ward County and it will give the address. You might want to call the recorder for the cost. I'm thinking one page is $10.
Pay close attention to the margin limits that RW Kennedy specifies, which means you might need to print out, then go to a copy machine to print in Legal Size paper; or, to set it so the top Margin is further down than this print-out. The NDIC may have changed this on their pdf already, but last time I printed one out, it was incorrect.
Good Luck.
dear micheal...contact Charles Demakis with Olson and Burns in Minot....tell him Jim Hargrave sent you his way....He just did some estate minerals filings for me to straighten out some records for a very fair price....my email is jimfastco@gmail.com....send me a email and i will give you LOTS of important information ingeneral.....
also email me and i can forward you the acceptable statement of claim sent to me from WARD COUNTY DEEDS DEPARTMENT.....i just read the rest of your forum...i think you best get in touch with charles a.s.a.p. because alot of people from the oil counties are on this forum and may reconize the your family name and try to jump start title proceedures...did your dad have a estate ever opened? also it depends on if there are other share holders and if they filed any statement of claims to the minerals which would prevent the surface owners from doing anything.....if there are other share holders, each others use will independentely keep starting the 20 years over. a example would be if their shares were hiered to someone then when those shares transfered ownership through the estate the 20 years begins again for all share holders per acre in which tenants in common applies....and as far as i know tenants in common can not take severed action against each other...contact me via email and i can walk you through alot of info....just spent two years going through all the ins and outs of 5 estates covering 1640 acres through over 10 owners in 8 decades and down to 2 owners....myself and my aunt....
jim hargrave said:
dear micheal...contact Charles Demakis with Olson and Burns in Minot....tell him Jim Hargrave sent you his way....He just did some estate minerals filings for me to straighten out some records for a very fair price....my email is jimfastco@gmail.com....send me a email and i will give you LOTS of important information ingeneral.....
Mr. Hargrave, I don't think anyone ( cotennant ) filing a statement of claim, leasing, selling or in any other way using their minerals has any affect whatsoever on another cotennants mineral rights in ND. I took a pretty close look at it at one time and came to the conclusion that I was not covered by others lease or statement of claim. I recommend a fresh statement of claim if anyone has any doubt.
actually if you read my reply the bottom line is in relation to surface owners gaining ownership of micheals shares...so the bottom line is as long as SOMEONE.... COTENNANT or Micheal has done ANY TYPE of MAJOR minerals related transaction within the 20 years then no one above can claim to micheals...ND only will allow a surface owner claim 100% of the minerals if rules apply in their favor so my point is Micheal needs to look into other shares as well as his own while already in the middle of his issue in general....a example is in my family my father died in 1992 and in 1993 i gave myself his SHARES....the last lease agreement for the whole family was in 1983 which expired in 1988....so had it not been for the estate action in 1993 the 20 years would have been up in 2008, but since the estate had a transfer of ownership in 1993 i myself started a new 20 year timeline which made it impossible for the surface to stake any type of claim before 2013 therfore indirectly protecting my other family members from surface claims....of course i agree anyone with minerals needs to file statement of claims regularly and a person like micheal should do so immediately just to start his new adventure but still he needs to make sure he understands his whole scope of minerals...i only recommended he also gain information on co tennants/tenants in common ect....as a back up to ownership TOOL.....and I also recommend he gets in touch with Charles at OLSON AND BURNS to properly stake claim through the estate...Through the estate will be a TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP and there is no better claim to minerals the that...next best is a REGULAR STATEMENT OF CLAIM .....in fact we just did a estate correction with Charles this month which resulted in a transfer of ownership to myself for a 160 acres which was over looked in the beginning....which was a pre caution for both myself and my aunt...JUST TO BE EXTRA FOR SURE SAFE.....the other thing is a STATEMENT OF CLAIM before a estate action is not VALID FOR MICHEAL....anyone can do a statement of claim on anyone's minerals and file it....if there isnt a sell of ownership, a estate probate filing.,ect..then that would be a worthless claim upon a real title opinion until TRANSFERED INTO MICHEALS NAME LEGALLY. Micheal it is best that you get a estate action going soon PERIOD....if there was a previous estate start with that attorney....if not give Charles a call...He took care of my latest issue for 1000.00...he re-opened my dads estate then filed the new MINERAL DEEDS OF DISTRIBUTION which is exactly what you will need providing you dont have other estate issues from family and such..... The thing with minerals is to protect your self anyway you can in this day and age....especially in western north dakota..P.S. WARD IS HARD TO LEASE...but I think it will get better.....
r w kennedy said:
Mr. Hargrave, I don't think anyone ( cotennant ) filing a statement of claim, leasing, selling or in any other way using their minerals has any affect whatsoever on another cotennants mineral rights in ND. I took a pretty close look at it at one time and came to the conclusion that I was not covered by others lease or statement of claim. I recommend a fresh statement of claim if anyone has any doubt.
Michael, our family just came out of a mess with a surface owner which involved an attorney and almost went to trial. PLEASE do the Statement of Claim and get everything transferred into your name ASAP. North Dakota is a new "breed" and it is very exciting but dangerous for ones that don't know about the 20 Year Lapse.
Also, use this website as a tool to watch your interest up there: DMR.ND.GOV (small case letters of course). Go to the Oil & Gas Division Website and click on it. When opened, look at the left hand side and scroll down to the GIS Map Server and look up your section(s). It will give you numbers for Township, Range & Section. Put those in and see if anyone is drilling in and around your section(s). If so, call them and talk to the landman. Hope this might help. By the way, we at least won 1/2 of our mineral interest and now share the other 1/2 with the surface owner. 2006 ND Statutes were different than what they have out now. Deceased parents can be a problem especially when you don't know ND laws. Good luck Michael.
dear debra....from reading your reply to micheal it sounds like your family and the surface agreed to share the interest equally prior to trial to avoid either of you losing all together????? i just curious how that worked out that way because typically either the surface has right to claim or they dont...and before your story i never have heard of a split of claim to acres unless there was some type of sale and reservation of minerals involved..... what part of nd are you in? we are in WARD.....
Hi Jim, this is a LONG story and I will try to keep it very short. This happened in Mountrail County with our family (through my grandparents first purchasing the mineral rights back in 1952). Of course our grandparents and parents are deceased and have been for several years. On one of the sections the surface owner went with the 2006 statutes required at that time and thought they had the mineral rights. I am thankful they have changed the Statutes to now look for possible heirs before the surface owner can claim it. It is funny though as my cousins and I were leased the same section. I did follow up by watching the ND website (DMR.ND.GOV) and saw what looked like a well in our section. I inquired on it and our family found out about the surface owner and the situation of a 20 year lapse. Anyway, we obtained an attorney and after over a year of holding out and planning a trial, we were presented sharing 1/2 interest with them and 1/2 for us. Finally, this month we have obtained the Quit Claim Deed for our share. We live out of state and had no idea of the 20 year lapse. Saving grace here was we had a lease on the section and other issues in our favor I won't get in to. Our family is probating for the whole state now for our protection. We have interests in Mountrail, Divide & Williams Counties. Hope that helps some on what we did. Long process and I am glad we didn't go to trial although we were ready as we knew we had plenty of positives to win.
jim hargrave said:
dear debra....from reading your reply to micheal it sounds like your family and the surface agreed to share the interest equally prior to trial to avoid either of you losing all together????? i just curious how that worked out that way because typically either the surface has right to claim or they dont...and before your story i never have heard of a split of claim to acres unless there was some type of sale and reservation of minerals involved..... what part of nd are you in? we are in WARD.....
well sometimes you have to make the best choice over the gamble.....we just crossed our last hurdle to keep our acres in place ourselves....yet to get a lease though...many talks and negotiations but no locked in deal yet....we are north east of parshall just over the ward / mountrail line, directly north of makoti....well i figure there was was something different then the usual surface claims...glad you have worked it out...its even harder to deal with from other states...im in denver myself....thanks for your time
Debra (Debbi) S. Lee Neff said:
Hi Jim, this is a LONG story and I will try to keep it very short. This happened in Mountrail County with our family (through my grandparents first purchasing the mineral rights back in 1952). Of course our grandparents and parents are deceased and have been for several years. On one of the sections the surface owner went with the 2006 statutes required at that time and thought they had the mineral rights. I am thankful they have changed the Statutes to now look for possible heirs before the surface owner can claim it. It is funny though as my cousins and I were leased the same section. I did follow up by watching the ND website (DMR.ND.GOV) and saw what looked like a well in our section. I inquired on it and our family found out about the surface owner and the situation of a 20 year lapse. Anyway, we obtained an attorney and after over a year of holding out and planning a trial, we were presented sharing 1/2 interest with them and 1/2 for us. Finally, this month we have obtained the Quit Claim Deed for our share. We live out of state and had no idea of the 20 year lapse. Saving grace here was we had a lease on the section and other issues in our favor I won't get in to. Our family is probating for the whole state now for our protection. We have interests in Mountrail, Divide & Williams Counties. Hope that helps some on what we did. Long process and I am glad we didn't go to trial although we were ready as we knew we had plenty of positives to win.
jim hargrave said:dear debra....from reading your reply to micheal it sounds like your family and the surface agreed to share the interest equally prior to trial to avoid either of you losing all together????? i just curious how that worked out that way because typically either the surface has right to claim or they dont...and before your story i never have heard of a split of claim to acres unless there was some type of sale and reservation of minerals involved..... what part of nd are you in? we are in WARD.....
Jim, I know you are talking about Ward County and our family have the other counties with our interests. It was the principal of the situation for sure. Thank goodness for our leases being in place. Most of all, our grandparents bought these so long ago we had to fight for the family. We now have children to pass along to. Trying to make it easier. Some of the situations like mine can happen in any county. I will certainly help anyone I can get their rightful claim back. You are certainly correct, living in another state makes it very hard, but stay steady and don't give up. Denver is beautiful; I have been there in the past and love the mountains. Take care and wish you luck.
jim hargrave said:
well sometimes you have to make the best choice over the gamble.....we just crossed our last hurdle to keep our acres in place ourselves....yet to get a lease though...many talks and negotiations but no locked in deal yet....we are north east of parshall just over the ward / mountrail line, directly north of makoti....well i figure there was was something different then the usual surface claims...glad you have worked it out...its even harder to deal with from other states...im in denver myself....thanks for your time
Debra (Debbi) S. Lee Neff said:Hi Jim, this is a LONG story and I will try to keep it very short. This happened in Mountrail County with our family (through my grandparents first purchasing the mineral rights back in 1952). Of course our grandparents and parents are deceased and have been for several years. On one of the sections the surface owner went with the 2006 statutes required at that time and thought they had the mineral rights. I am thankful they have changed the Statutes to now look for possible heirs before the surface owner can claim it. It is funny though as my cousins and I were leased the same section. I did follow up by watching the ND website (DMR.ND.GOV) and saw what looked like a well in our section. I inquired on it and our family found out about the surface owner and the situation of a 20 year lapse. Anyway, we obtained an attorney and after over a year of holding out and planning a trial, we were presented sharing 1/2 interest with them and 1/2 for us. Finally, this month we have obtained the Quit Claim Deed for our share. We live out of state and had no idea of the 20 year lapse. Saving grace here was we had a lease on the section and other issues in our favor I won't get in to. Our family is probating for the whole state now for our protection. We have interests in Mountrail, Divide & Williams Counties. Hope that helps some on what we did. Long process and I am glad we didn't go to trial although we were ready as we knew we had plenty of positives to win.
jim hargrave said:dear debra....from reading your reply to micheal it sounds like your family and the surface agreed to share the interest equally prior to trial to avoid either of you losing all together????? i just curious how that worked out that way because typically either the surface has right to claim or they dont...and before your story i never have heard of a split of claim to acres unless there was some type of sale and reservation of minerals involved..... what part of nd are you in? we are in WARD.....
Hi Mike H.,
Here is a link to a statement of claim form. You can print it free if you choose.
https://www.formsworkflow.com/reg-08.aspx?partnercode=&ReturnUrl=%7e%2fs_Florida.aspx%3fdoc%3d81510
Yours,
Wes Luke
mike h said:
thanks kindly to all responding! as far as i know, no claim has been filed in over 20 yrs. my fathers rights represented a percentage of 160 acres, there has been action on the mineral rights on the land in 1980, 1987, 1995,and 2008 ie sale of a share, transfer of deed, or title. does this activity " reset the 20 year clock?" ward county recorder tells me yesterday, the title is still in my fathers name. thank you.
charles s mallory said:Captain Skittles:
No use refers to the fact that no action (leasing, filing a statement of claim) has been made in regards to the mineral interests in the past 20 years. This needs to be watched carefully in order not to lose what is legally yours. I don't beleive that this is a widespread problem in Western ND counties due to all the activity over the past few years. It is something that all mineral owners should be aware of as this could become a nightmare.
Captain Skittles said:When you say "20 years of no use" what does that mean i.e. no drilling, no leases signed, etc.
r w kennedy said:Mr. Hassler, the answer is yes. After 20 years of no use, the surface owner can reclaim the mineral rights under their surface. There are a few hoops the surface owner must jump through, but in my opinion the bar is set pretty low. As Mr. Mallory says you need to act swiftly, file a statement of claim in Ward county with your current contact information. If you have many acres you may want to hire a landman to make certain that no one has already tried to claim your minerals, as there may be the possibility of getting them back until the surface owner perfects title in a quiet title action, in that case you would have to reimburse the surface owner for his legal expenses. Almost as bad as losing your rights, is the fact that you could be deemed unlocatable, a unlocatable mineral owner trust be set up, and a very poor lease could be signed in your fathers name, or yours by the county treasurer.