It’s has been some years since I last received a division order so I’m hoping to be excused for asking my question. It may sound pretty dumb to those that know. So here goes. In the past, when I received division orders, I didn’t sign them because it wasn’t required in North Dakota. I have received division orders and I was going to just file them with the lease documents unsigned. I just want to make certain it is still not required by North Dakota that they be signed and returned. Thank you all for your patience.
Morning. I know lots of folks that don’t sign division orders in North Dakota and still get paid out on the wells.
My understanding is that you do not have to sign the DO for ND. However, there are several good reasons for doing so.
You have a record of a signed contract to pay and you leave a paper trail for your heirs. An unsigned one is also a trail, but they might ignore it is they don’t understand it and just think it is junk and throw it away.
You have to look at the DO and make sure that it matches your records. I have had some in ND that wanted to give me less than what I leased for. If I had just ignored it and put it in the file unsigned, I would have lost out on thousands and thousands of dollars.
You will also have a signed record if your original owner gets bought out and the next owner gives a new DO with a different decimal. That has also happened to me. You will have a paper trail again. I suppose an unsigned one would possibly suffice, but a signed one seems more formal.
Just my thoughts.
Thank you for your replies. On this particular lease, I have been getting royalties for several years. They have now drilled additional wells and sent the division order. I just wanted to be certain no new laws or codes have been instituted that would make signing mandatory.