Have Mineral Rights from Inheritance

I just joined MRF.

About 16 years ago my sisters & I inherited my mother & fathers Mineral Rights from theirTrust(s).

At that time the Attorney & CPA advised us not to spend the money to rename mineral rights as there was no activity on them.

I HAVE THE MINERAL RIGHTS files & documets.

Needless to say considering that in Oklahoma a Trust never goes to Probate.

I'm worried that if there is activity around these Mineral Rights I (We) would not be contacted by a driller/producer/landmen.

Since I retain these documents; how do I go about checking to see if Activity is about these Mineral Rights.

At this point I'm generally quite nieve to where to go & what to do; but confident that some locations of these are in some prime areas.

J. Michael

I would be happy to speak with you. 9186257355

Stephanie, this is a message board in which people help each other with discussions.

This is not a place for you to chase down innocent, uninformed mineral owners and make them offers.

Mineral owners: do not snap up offers made by lurkers on this board. Compare them, take your time. Contact the major oil companies who are drilling to compare.

I'm disappointed that Stephanie and others will not share their general knowledge on this board.

I may sound like a b**ch, but I've been on the receiving end of a bad contract, and am determined to help others!

I've learned a lot from Buddy Cotten's comments. That's what this should be about.

Mineral owners, educate yourself on the Google Bakken blog. Plug in your questions and look in the archives. Ask questions. When you ask questions there, they are answered, and people who are on to troll for business are shouted off.

HI,

I just joined, too. I have been working for a royalty owner who is the successor trustee of her mother's trust. I have been transfering all the deeds from the mother's trust into the trusts of the heirs - the mother's three daughters. I've only been at this two years, so I'm a newbie, however I will share what I've been doing.

I created new deeds in which the mother's trust (grantor) conveys the properties to the heirs, all named with addresses, etc. and each property is named with the legal description. Each of the heirs had to sign and have notarized the new deed, then I recorded the deeds in the counties where the properties are located.

When the recorded deed was returned by the county, I then began the process of notifying all the oil companies who had leases and division orders on record to transfer these to the new heirs. I had to provide a copy of the new recorded deed, and sometimes a copy of part of the heir's trusts. They sent new transfer/division orders, so I confirmed the interests were correct and all properties were included before they were signed and returned.

Your property may not be leased or producing now, however I suggest you record a new deed in your name with your current address. This family set up trusts first, and put all the properties into their trusts rather than their individual names. If it's on record in your name, then should some company wish to lease, they would know who to contact and how.

The deeds are tricky, getting the correct legal description exact - so I scanned the original deeds and digitally cut and pasted the legals into my new deeds to avoid mistakes/typos. It also cut down the time required to create these deeds. Once they came back after being recorded, I scanned them again and put them on the computer hard drive as well as copied onto flash drives for safe keeping. I also made photo copies for the other heirs and provided them with flash drives, too.

This is just how this family has handled their inherited properties. The original owners acquired these back at the turn of the century, and they've passed down generation by generation, each recording new deeds in their names. You can do a lot of this legwork yourself, however I'm not an attorney, and you should consult with one experienced in these things.

I hope this was some help.

If you post the county I can tell you if there is any activity. If the mineral rights were in the trust you can have a deed drawn up very simply by almost anyone and then the trustee is the only one who needs to sign to convey the interest, then file the deed at the proper county clerks office. If the mineral rights were not in the trust then you can probate it or the cheapest way for now would be to file an affidavit of heirship which most companies will pay on if it’s a small interest.

Thanks to you Judith Neeley & Tim Metz for the advise.

I'll get the Mineral Rights files out and identify the States & Counties.

Tim two that come to mind are Beckem County in OK & Loving Co. in TX.

Mike

Another thought....you want to find out if your properties are in counties that require you to pay taxes. If you are required to pay taxes and do not, you can lose your rights/interests if not paid on time. It depends if you are being paid interest on any of these, however it is something to keep in mind. There is also the issue of having to re-state your rights every X number of years - which depends on the state/county and their requirements. I have to go back through my notes/files to refresh my memory, but I recall it's something like every 20 years in some locations, 12 years in another, for instance -some document gets filed at the county level reaffirming your interest in the property, I believe.

If you want, I can PDF you via email or attach a word document with my basic mineral deed template - and guide you in creating a new deed. Call the county clerk/recorders offices and find out their recording requirements - such as the margin they require around the document, the recording fees, correct address where to send, and if there are any other recording requirements/tax forms that have to be filed. Some states require you to include an exemption statement as it's a transfer within family with no $ having exchanged hands - so no additional taxes due, etc. Each county/state is different, and rules get changed periodically, so call for the most updated information.

By all means, get a deed recorded in your name, or in the name of your trust if you have one. Surely, you will want to pass this along in your estate some day, and if it's not in your name, your heirs will have a difficult time.



J. Michael Baker said:

Thanks to you Judith Neeley & Tim Metz for the advise.

I'll get the Mineral Rights files out and identify the States & Counties.

Tim two that come to mind are Beckem County in OK & Loving Co. in TX.

Mike