Hello, first-time poster.. Hoping for some help.
I’ve been working on this for about a year, and it’s just getting circular.
My great-uncle has some mineral rights on a property in Reagan Co., TX, that had production after he passed away that’s been escheated to the state, primarily from North American Royalties and Pioneer Natural Resources (both no longer in existence). I’ve supplied the original deed, the current deed (in the name of the estate), all of my information as admin, etc., etc., to the state of TX, and I’m getting correspondence back asking for lease information, division orders, specific well numbers, etc., which is almost impossible to provide specifically without the DO. I have what I believe is the correct RRC lease number, lease name, etc., but unfortunately none of that ties the property to my family, it’s all Operator related.
The county clerk does not have any DO’s, but has the records of all the leases of the property, which do align with the escheated funds. The original lease was in place before he purchased it, and continued with various operators, all of which must have named him as a payee (with monies going to the state) in their own DO’s.
I paid the title office $650 to provide a “Run Report” which ends up just being an Excel file of little value to me (I don’t recommend doing this BTW). His name only shows up twice: when he purchased it, and when the deed was updated to his estate’s name (by me).
However, and again, there must have been DO’s created naming him as an owner and payable, but since he was already deceased, he couldn’t sign them or get into pay status.
Any advice on how to navigate this or get the TX Comptroller to work with me?
Does anyone know where the records from North American went after their bankruptcy?
Thanks!
This highlights the problems that can arise when mineral owners do not pay attention to the asset or save all records such as leases, deeds, division orders, check detail, etc. Based on your post, I assume that your great-uncle passed away many years ago and that production has ceased on the wells. Was he in pay on these wells at the time of his death in which case there might be check stubs. Or is the estate in pay for currently in pay on these same wells? Or was he never in pay? As you have found, division orders are not recorded. If these are unit wells, get the recorded DPU (Unit Declaration) to see if it lists the mineral owners and interests, as well as the leases. If the wells are still producing, then the estate should be in pay (or you need to get it into pay) by executing new division orders. Then you might be able to tie the new division orders to the well history.
Correct, my great-uncle passed away in '62, and the majority of the production was in the 80’s through the early 2000’s. Most of the wells in this lease are now plugged and abandoned, there was about 8 or so wells in the same lease.
He himself was never in pay status that I know of (recall he died in '62), but I believe his son may have been. I can’t confirm this, but there are county tax assessments that were mailed to his son and were paid. His son (my uncle) is also now deceased, and I have no records. His son never corrected the mineral deed, however, I have since done that, and it’s all been recorded at the county clerk’s office. I am the admin of both estates and the sole beneficiary.
My great-uncle is obviously identified on a DO somewhere, as the operator was trying to pay him, and the funds have been escheated in his name and are still sitting there.
I believe the original lease predates my great-uncle, as I’ve found records with the clerk of a lease in '44, and his mineral deed in '51 mentions that original lease. Going through old RRC records is laborious and I don’t really know what I’m looking for…
Where would I find a DPU? Any other suggestions or how to work with the comprtroller?
With no production until the 1980’s, most likely the minerals were unleased at the time the wells were drilled. The 1944 leases would only have stayed in effect if there was production from 1944 forward. The oil company may have sent lease-offer letters to the address on the deed with no more updated records. For unleased minerals, the interests would not come into pay until well payout on a well-by-well basis. So the company would search again for your uncle to try to put him into pay and then escheat the funds. If his son was in pay and then died, then the funds would have accrued in his name and escheated to the state in son’s name too. Problem for the TX Comptroller is needing to prove that the funds in the name of your uncle are for your uncle and not for someone else with the same name. That is why Comptroller asks for proof of a direct link between the oil company and your uncle, rather than for another owner with the same name. The Declaration of Pooled Unit (DPU) would be filed in the Reagan County records for the lease wells, such as ABC Gas Unit. It might list the various royalty owners in different tracts.
@ckspeed Welcome to the Community. As the past president of NARO-TX, I’d like to invite you to check out the free webinar offered on the national website - “How Do I Search for My Deeds and Leases or Other Important Documents.” I think it will really help you with your search. You can find the link at the bottom of the main Naro page. NARO offers half price memberships to new members, specifically designed for brand new mineral owners like yourself. Tell them I sent you and you get another $25 off. If you become a member, there are a wide variety of webinars available to you at no additional charge. It’s a great way to quickly get up to speed on what you should be doing and how to do it. I hope you will join us.
So, people can advertise on here now? Solicting mineral owners to pay money to a site that they will have no idea how to use/interpret the data nor what to make of it and then telling them to hire a lawyer with their findings? Might as well just let the mineral and lease buyers to do the same, would be much more beneficial for mineral owners
@Bob77 NARO is a nonprofit that empowers mineral and royalty owners by educating them so they can advocate for themselves. All board members, including myself are unpaid volunteers.
@TennisDaze I believe the minerals were leased at the time of production. There seems to be an ongoing mention of the same lease throughout all of the other RD’s and operator changes throughout the years, and the same lease number in the RRC seems to carry through North American Royalties, Scythian, and Pioneer Natural Resources. There’s very regular royalty payments escheated for years in my great-uncles name after his death, but nothing for his son.
His son didn’t die until 2018, and production stopped before that time. The escheatments then stop so I suspect his son was in pay (still under the original DO and mineral deed), which is why the taxes got paid and the information was updated with the assessor’s office to his son’s name.
My main focus remains on how to work with the state comptroller to prove these assets belong to my great-uncle without an original DO, or how to track down records with North American.
I am 100% positive they are his and rightfully belong to his estate. I understand their situation, but at some point, shouldn’t it just become apparent that we’ve done everything we can do and Texas has to agree that everything points to this and it’s the right thing to do?
Sorry to cause a ruckus above; I’ll look into the NARO membership for sure. My great-uncle has properties scattered about that I’ve been working on cleaning up for the past 8 years. I don’t mind a pay-for-service of any kind if it’s helpful and reasonable.
Texas Comptroller has a legal obligation to ensure that only the person with legal title can collect this money. It is not a best guess policy. Sometimes there are multiple people claiming the same funds, especially if it a large amount. This is the problem that results where some call this ‘mailbox money’ and toss out records, rather than taking the time to manage the assets and involve the next generation. It leaves responsible people like you to clean up the mess.