I recently became aware that oil royalty payments due to my father’s oil company had been sent to a listed address that had not been correct for over 25 years. Continental Oil, just in 2025, turned over 178 incorrectly addressed payments to the Texas Comptroller-Missing Money Division. The amount is sizable. There have been several addresses associated with my father’s former oil company that could have been located with a simple Google search. Now, I can’t even get Continental Oil to call me back so I can figure out the property description and begin the process of claiming the money. I realize my father’s advancing age and subsequent death led to the property payments being overlooked and failure to update addresses for Continental, but as I said, there seemed to be no effort to locate another address in 25 years. As a result of this failure to even attempt to find another address, the payments were just held. As the executor of my father’s estate since 2016, I was unaware of the agreement with Continental Oil and the property. Has anyone had any experience like this and is there any recourse to obtain interest or to address this in some other way?
Are you certain you need property descriptions to claim the Missing Money?
If I may,
Im in the middle of ownership title transfers from the 1960’s.
In order to find out where the moneys are held, you need to contact the county clerks office where the property is located. Then find out under what name did they hold the moneys under. Truthfully, it may not be in your dads EXACT Name. Who knows how these people think that are incharge of this type stuff. Try property address past and current, try anything that will connect you to that.
Also, you need to show death certs, probate papers and or heirship papers to connect yoyu to that account.
lastly, you can search his name up in the Texas comptrollers webpage and if he has moneys sitting there, it should be liste. IF SO, there is a “CLAIM” button that you can press that initialtes capture of funds. I did Claim some moneys last week but have still not heard back from The Texas Comptrollers office.
Best of luck
Thank-you so much for your response. Biggest issue is that I have absolutely no idea what property it is or where it is located. My father had a number of interests from all over the state. Hopefully Continental will get back with me at some point. Can’t imagine dealing with transfers from the 60s.
Don’t forget the Texas comptrollers. Also try looking at counties where he lived AND where the grandparents lived and even great grandparents.
It takes time but methodically you can get closer to the answer the more you dig down that rabbit hole.
If there are property records, you might try . something like the statewide search on Texasfile. A property deed or lease with your father’s name or company name might be found.
Go to ClaimItTexas dot gov and search using wild cards. Partial company name, etc.
Go online to the Texas unclaimed funds site, put in your Dad’s name or his company name and search for anything close. Unclaimed funds for that name will show up for the entire state. If funds show held by Continental Oil with anything close to his name, mark it. When you have checked and double checked (there are usually alphabetical lists, but can have 2 or 3 sets concurrently) tick on file a claim. You will have to put in your personal info and choose how you are filing the claim, ie executor, custodian, etc. Once the initial claim gets in the system, you will be sent paperwork to prove that the money really is yours. This can be done by showing your Dad had past dealings with / payments from Continental - maybe using old bank statements, tax forms, payment stubs or the such. You shouldn’t need to put in every well description, but just prove that he had dealings with the company. You will need to work on getting your info together and then it will need to be submitted and thoroughly checked before the funds can be released.
Thanks so much to all for the input. I appreciate your advice.
you’ve already gotten some good advice. if you are open to playing a bit of detective, here’s a thought or two.
texas charges taxes on producing minerals. continental resources operates primarily in the permian basin, which would align with your comment about a “sizable” amount. I’d simply go to the taxing authority’s websites and search for your father’s companies name and see what pops up. this won’t take long at all. I did a quick search on welldatabase and continental resources operates wells in the following counties - Ector, Pecos, Midland, and Winkler.
next, I’d go to texasfile and put your father’s company name and any variations you feel appropriate into the grantee field. this may enable you to find the mineral deed(s) that conveyed the interests.
once you find the location, you can go back to welldatabase (which has a free version btw) and identify the wells within the owned acreage.
with respect to dealing with Continental, send them a certified letter with return receipt requested. then you’ll just have to be patient and wait. it’s not unusual for the larger companies to take months to respond (in my experience anyway).
with respect to obtaining unclaimed money - others have shared their thoughts, so I’ll share mine. I’ve attempted to obtain unclaimed funds in three different states. I’ve struck out 3x. the states (at least for me…) make it very, very difficult to obtain funds. it appears easy at first. you click the claim button, fill out a form, and think you’re done. you’re not. the states will come back and ask for additional information. if you’re not the actual person (in this case, it’s your father’s company, not you); then this has the possibility of being very, very difficult; especially if your father passed away in a state different from the state the minerals are in and did not have his will probated in said state.
good luck,
David
I have been doing that exact business for 40 years. The advice given you by Mr. Meinert is completely accurate. You may have some luck if the funds are still in your father’s company name and that entity still exists. The states have very little on no expertise with ownership changes.
Once you provide sufficient information to the TX UCP, they will provide you with some basic information that may help you complete your claims. With that said, this can become a more complex issue if your father’s company is now out of business. The clarity of the State can also complicate issues. You can try going to TexasFile.com and perform a Minerals search (CAD) for minerals on tax roles. They do not cover every county, but you can get a great deal done for a very small cost.
I know its frustrating but as someone who has worked for an operator its doesn’t make sense for us to spend time/money trying to track people down to give them money. Its for them to notify us of change of address, change of bank info, probate if they want their money.
The TX Comptroller is actually very helpful, but you have to start by offering basic information to get started. They will not resolve title issues for you. They may tell you you can submit a recorded copy of an affidavit of heirship and it will be considered. However, be prepared for a response that requires some type of probate proceeding.