Didn't know I owned mineral rights

Hi, totally new here and honestly, quite lost. I got a letter in the mail that says someone wants to buy my mineral rights. Ok, but what mineral rights? I jave no idea about any oil and mineral rights. Where do i begin to look and see if my mother did something without telling me?

@Donfishy76, welcome to the forum. Does your letter mention what state or county the mineral rights are in? If so, you can possibly check the county records for the names of family members who might have had this type of property. If it doesn’t mention, maybe it was just a non-specific, mass mailing that doesn’t really imply you might have mineral rights.

Yes, the letter does say specifically in Doddridge Co in WV

Also, this is the 2nd time i have gotten a letter about this, maybe the first was like 9-12 months ago, and i had quickly dismissed it …

@Donfishy76, here is a link for an online search of the Doddridge County records.DoddridgeCo. Start with an index search of family members who might have had or still do have mineral rights. You may find that you do own mineral rights, or you may find that someone with a similar name is the actual owner. If you are the owner, you generally aren’t obligated to sell, but you may also want to check that you don’t owe property taxes. You can use the West Virginia Oil and Gas map to see if there are any producing wells in your area.https://tagis.dep.wv.gov/oog/, or you may be able to discern this from the public records of oil and gas leases.

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