Most likely there is a break in the chain of title asserted by Buyer X and it is not getting paid royalties. The well operator will not pay until title from your grandmother to your mother to Buyer X is clear. The State of Texas does not care one way or the other and is not preventing drilling. Title attorneys care and just like your house the title needs to be clear. Question is what is the issue. Did you mother only sell part of her interest and so her remaining share goes to her heirs? Or did she sell 100% but title is still in your grandmother? Was your grandmother’s will probated so title passed to either your mother or a trust? If not, then it is likely too late to probate the will, but that depends on the state where your grandmother lived. In that case, title passes by intestate laws. If probated and there is a trust involved, then maybe your mother signed as individual and not as trustee. Do not conduct legal business only by phone. Ask for a full explanation of the problem in writing or email and a copy of the document they want you to sign and a copy of the deed your mother signed. Then you can have a Texas oil and gas attorney help assess what to do. Do you have the deed your mother signed with a legal description, such as section, block, survey, or abstract? Post it and someone can see what wells are drilled there. Also, it might be possible that there is a second tract which was not included in your mother’s deed.
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