I have a major issue with this. Here goes the story.
My great uncle bought some mineral rights in Dundy County Nebraska around 1959 ( I have the deeds). He passed away 1982 and lived in Oklahoma. He died in Brooklyn New York VA Hospital and buried in the National Cemtery Calverton Long Island. He had a will and it was probated in Oklahoma. Their were 3 heirs in his will that were left his Mineral Rights (I have the Oklahoma Probate). We did not probate his will in Nebraska. Who would have thought you had to do that? Back in 1982 I do not think their were laws enabling the land owners to regain control of their mineral rights. Then it seems in the last few years Nebraska passed laws giving the land owners the ability to regain the mineral right to their land and take them away from the family members that inherited them ( to me that is robbery). Some how by accident I stumbled on to the lawyer that represented the land owner and he was nice enough to confirm that the land owner took possession in 2013.
Is their any way that we can have this overturned and the mineral rights returned to their rightful heirs. I have all documentation proving we are the rightful owners of these deeds?
To me this is the government allowing the Land Owner to Rob the Mineral Rights Owners. In other states the production of mineral rights are put into trust funds and returned to the heirs if they are found.
I feel something has to be done to stop this from happening to the heirs of mineral rights. I am willing to bet their are a lot of people out their that this is happening to and it would be nice if some lawyer would get involved and have this Nebraska law overturned. How can this be constitutional? It does not make sense to me that Nebraska can get away with this. If I understand this law( a land owner does a half ass search in Dundy County Nebraska) and that is good enough for him to regain the Mineral Rights.
Please feel free to post feedback on this. Maybe it will help us all out. Maybe we all have to pull together and get this crazy unfair law overturned.
NOT A HAPPY CAMPER
I am interested in hearing the views of other members on this topic
Thanks
BRUCE
Nebraska has dormant mineral statutes just like Kansas does. Something all owners must be aware of and make sure to follow the law to protect your assets.
http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=57-229
Kitchen
When were these laws (Statutes written)? Or do you just sneek them in when no one is looking? My Great Uncle purchased these Mineral Rights back in 1959. I do not believe these laws were around at that time period. Correct me if I am wrong. How would someone that does not know the first thing about Mineral Rights be aware of such laws. This forum was not around at that time. How would a heir to someones estate that lived outside of Nebraska and not knowing a thing about M R know about this?
As a person in this situation as I was, how would I have figured a Probate in Oklahoma is not good in Nebraska? Don't we all live in the United States of America? Isn't Nebraska part of the USA?
Bruce, the problem is, you would have needed to send Nebraska a copy of the probate when it was done, to effectively transfer the minerals into the rightful heirs names. Counties / States don't just automatically communicate that kind of information when something is done in their county that involves property outside of the county. A good probate attorney should have taken care of that for your family, or advised your family that copies of the probate would need to be filed in the respective counties in Nebraska and elsewhere that property included in the probate was distributed to heirs, so that the counties would record the transfer of ownership. I have no idea about Nebraska's mineral statute but I know Kansas has had similar laws in effect for years. A thorough probate attorney would have prepared deeds to actually deed the minerals from the estate to the heirs, and filed them in Nebraska.
I understand how upset you must be, but there are many members of this forum who recommend time and time again, how important it is for those of us with mineral rights / royalties to write down and describe everything, and teach the next generation in the family how they are supposed to handled, the yearly requirements, etc. Has anything ever been filed in Nebraska on those mineral rights since they were acquired in 1959? Did your family ever pay taxes on them? If you read the statute it gives several methods of "action" that keep the 23 year limit extending into the future.
What I would do is review the statutes thoroughly, and see if there was any kind of requirement to locate heirs of the mineral interest, and if there are requirements, verify from the court documents what kind of search was done. If it is required and no search was really done, you may have standing to take action against them.
I sympathize for your situation, but the law is the law, whether we like it or not.
Back in 1959 when the deeds were written and 1982 when the Oklahoma Probate was done I do not think this was an issue to worry about in Nebraska. Can anyone tell me if I am wrong? I do not think these statutes were in place at that time period.
Also it is my understanding their in no tax paid on none producing Mineral Rights in Dundy County Nebraska.
My family has lost a small amount of the mineral rights purchased by our Grandfather because no one in the family was aware that we owned them. Nor did we know that, in North Dakota anyway, if there is no activity on the mineral rights for a number of years by the mineral rights owners, the surface owner can petition the courts to have the mineral rights placed in the surface owner's name.
Here is much more detail about the law and how it is applied. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ne-supreme-court/1585298.html
Nebraska Courts, and the US Supreme Court have both concluded (but not necessarily applied equally to all cases) that there is a 2-year grace period from the time the law took effect for a mineral owner to take "action" to prevent the minerals from being considered abandoned, even if they were past the 23 year period. It had to be done in that 2 year window, however. The US Supreme Court ruled on the issue which stemmed from a case out of Indiana.
Kitchen
I just skimmed over the caselaw.findlaw.com link. Does it state that deeds signed before the law was made are not held by this law. My Deed was signed back in 1959 by our late uncle, my great uncle. I am not a lawyer so maybe I do not fully understand what I am reading here in that link.
Thanks Bruce
Bruce,
I wish I had more legal knowledge. The case reference for whether or not minerals severed before the law can be held to the new law or not is here https://www.courtlistener.com/neb/c6tk/wheelock-v-heath/. If anyone with better legal knowledge than I can read that and interpret it better than I have, there may be good news for you. It appears that the "retroactive effect" of the dormant mineral statutes in Nebraska were ruled unconstitutional. However, both cases that tested the constitutionality were in 1978. Without having more legal knowledge, this may mean that until 23 years has passed since the law was enacted, no minerals could be taken under this statute. Your minerals have been dormant more than 23 years since. Maybe someone with more experience could shed light on what the court cases mean about the law being ruled unconstitutional for "retroactive" cases.
Bruce, you need to read things very closely yourself or hire a lawyer to do it for you. Kitchen very kindly did some legwork for you to get you started. I replied to your other thread and the upshot of what I said was that there may yet be a grace period in which you could recover your minerals although you may have to pay the surface owners expenses for trying to take your minerals.
The surface owner may not have completed the process properly. I don't know for certain, I don't have a need to know Nebraska law bad enough to read through it and give you a definitive answer which you would need to take to your own lawyer and ask him/her about.
You can do the legwork yourself, or you could probably get the answer from a Nebraska lawyer for less than $250, hopefully no more than $100. I am not familliar with Nebraska law but out west I have found that most laws are in plain language without alot of latin. Usually the laws are online if you search hard enough. I would do more than skim, or I would hire someone to do it for me.
Kennedy and Kitchen
I am sorry if I offended anyone and if I had then I am sorry. I really appreciate what you both have contributed to this discussion. I am only trying to get some members of this forum that have legal knowledge in this matter to shed some light on this issue. I am sure their are many other people that are going through this same situation . I do not think the law is just and if we can get enough people on here to ban together maybe we can get some justice for those that have inherited Mineral Rights from family members that have passed on and never saw a dime for their hard earned investments. The court system then decides to return it back to the land owner that was paid for the Mineral Rights and sold them. The land owners that bought the land afterwards should be aware that the mineral rights were sold before he bought the land from the next owner. In short I think you get my point. It is very very sad what this law is doing. Please post to this Discussion if you agree with me and let our voices be heard.
Thanks Bruce
Bruce, I understand what you are going through and that you think it is unjust. I’d be the last person to disagree with you. That being said, you cannot expect to come here and get free legal advice, which is pretty much what you’re asking for. All I have to say…
Linton Tomlin
I believe this forum is here so we can offer advice and help others that are not that knowledgeable with the Gas and Oil industry so they can get a better understanding about it. I believe we were all their once and it is our way to help others as others have helped us. Am I wrong?? Yes it would be nice for a lawyer to offer free legal advice here not everything is about money. My wife is a nurse and she shares her knowledge and she has saved a few lives and did not charge a penny for that. How much is that worth??
From what you are saying I think we should all charge for our knowledge. Why offer it for free?? Why should a Lawyer offer free advice here ? I think then the people operating this forum should charge for their services also. Why should anyone do anything for free? Isn't that what this is all about?? Give Me A Break
I think you have said enough ( the cow that gave milk and then kicked over the bucket)
Bruce, I am certainly not offended. I believe you are correct that the law is unjust, just my opinion. The thing to remember is that a law need not be just. It is the law whether it is Just or not. If the law was abolished, it WOULD NOT be made retroactive. I suggest you concentrate on the immediate practical considerations to you. After you have your situation well in hand, or have determined that there is nothing that can be done, we can discuss why the law is what it is, and how many millions of dollars spread around to whom it would take to abolish the law in each state that has such a law, of which I believe there are at least 5 and probably more. I am very strong on private property rights which lately have been eroding at what I consider an alarming rate in this country.
Linton I guess we both travel different paths in our lives I figured there must have been a lawyer somewhere in the mix That explains the way you think. That does not make you wrong.
I am so thankful I belong to this forum. My father passed about 2 1/2 years ago. We own 100's of acres of mineral rights in Nebraska. We need to get this probated asap. I doubt they will ever drill because our mineral rights are over or really close to the Sand Hills and the Ogallala aquifer but one never knows. I'd rather have safe drinking water anyway. However some of the separate mineral rights are located in the North Platte Valley where I grew up. Great and wonderful childhood. AHHHHHH to turn back the hands of time.
Bruce:
I encountered the same thing in North Dakota. Thinking that i was going to find minerals owned by my great great grandfather and family who homesteaded around Towner, all i found was a Clerk and Recorder who informed me that the minerals had reverted back to the surface owner after so many years of no action taken place with the minerals. I lucked out in Texas five years back from another side of family and did receive mineral rights from 1800's that family stilled owned. Yes this is being lazy on account of Oil companies and greed by surface owners is what this robbing of right's amount to! Oil companies are short cutting and our government allowed it. I feel screwed also.