How does one go from a tax assessment/tax bill into determining exactly what legal description is included in the unit?
Victoria County, Texas tax bill shows "Dryer William W#3" and shows the operator as Union Gas Oper. (Also shows Dryer William W#2 and W#4).
Dear Doug,
You cannot tell from an assessment roll. You need to look at the courthouse records for an Unit Declaration.
Best,
Buddy Cotten
When I am trying to hunt down information I start by asking the operator. They often say no, but I have been pleasantly surprised many times by how helpful folks are willing to be if you just ask nicely.
Barring that, a lot of records are available online these days for a nominal fee. Often the cost of paying a landman in that county to go pull something is not worth the information I need.
The operators do not provide any information to the assessor's about which tract or parcel the mineral interest originates from. The only information they report is:
Owner (name, mailing address - sometimes they do not send a mailing address)
Amount of interest you own in a particular well or lease
Type of interest you own (royalty, overriding, working)
To my knowledge they are not required to provide any more than that. I've seen situations where someone could own 10 different houses in the same subdivision, and all are included on one gas well, and the person gets one mineral tax account even though their interest originates from 10 different parcels. If they sell one parcel, it just reduces the interest they own, but still remains as one mineral tax account. This confuses people constantly. My response is - until the law is changed to require more information, there is really nothing you can do except know where your interest is, how much interest you have, which wells they belong to, and make sure the math is correct for your royalties and that the interest you own is the same one you are being taxed for on your property tax bills.
Also if you buy or sell any interest, make sure you notify the operator ASAP and ensure the assessor is provided a copy of the Division Order showing new ownership or revised interest. Some operators fail to report corrections resulting in erroneous property tax bills (or lack of tax bills). This can be problematic, especially if taxes become delinquent or the error goes longer than 5 years (after 5 years refunds cannot be issued).