How long can hold out?

Joe:

It now sounds as if there was some ambiguity in the language of the conveyance from the ladies to your grandfather. You might ask your brother to send an email back asking for the entire title requirement.

Phyllis

Hey, Joe -

Just read this reply from you from yesterday, so I guess I'm responding backwardsly.

Phillis' idea of requesting a copy of the requirement from the Title Opinion is not a bad one and not uncommon. In most title opinions, the examining Attorney will set out in his/her "Recitals" the specifics of what he/she sees as a title defect before setting out a Requirement for curing it.

At least with that, you would understand why they need the Stipulation and Cross-Conveyance.

But you are still going to have to wait for the other people to get their paperwork straightened out before anybody can sign.

Charles



Joe Jackson said:

Hi

I am back home and I am reviewing the Assignment of Royalty documents. The first one is a classic fill in the blank "Assignment of Royalty" (no 3g Assignment of Royalty (Southern Form) Kintzel Blue Print Co, Casper, Wy) between the mineral right owner and to each of the two ladies. One set per lady. This is for 1/2 of 1% Royalty of all oil and of all gas produced and saved from the hereinafter(?) said lands in the county of Rosebud. This is followed by township information and more boiler plate legal stuff. This was signed 21st day of January 1955.

This was followed by my Grandfather typing up another Assignment of Royalty, that gives him 1/6 of 1% Royalty. It appears the legal wording is the same other than my grandfather listed our Grandmother as Joint Tenants in Common with rights of survivorship. My grandfather out lived our Grandmother and we reopened their probates, after my mother's death, to take care of all these mineral rights he had. We did not know about this one, but I searched the land records and there is no release from my Grandfather. The only difference in the forms is one is a "fill in the blank" and the other form is completely typed out with the same language. Oh, this was signed on 7th day of February 1955.

Recording information. One set of Assignment of Royalty has the a lady's assignment on 11th of February at 9 am and my Grandfathers Assignment was recorded on the same day at 9:05. Seems all correct. Now for the other lady's of assignment to her, that was recorded on 25th day of February, 1955 while the assignment to my Grandfather was recorded on 7th day of February 1955 at 9:10. So, the recording of the first assignment to the lady was after my Grandfather's assignment to him. The original document was signed 21st day of January, 1955 and assigned to my Grandfather on 7th day of February. This is only issue I see, but you have stated that is not an issue. From my reading of title work in the past, it was never and issue too, as we have 60 years of time.

So, I hope this helps you and you can give us some advise.

Thanks

Joe



Charles Emery Tooke III said:

Hey, Joe -

I've been looking over your message string and I do not understand why the company is "requiring the two ladies' estates".

Is there some verbage in the consideration clause to the effect that the interests conveyed were for the probating of their respective estates? Or is the title issue with them, not your grandfather?

Where is the property located?

Hope this helps -

Charles

Charles Emery Tooke III

Certified Professional Landman

Fort Worth, Texas

What about instances when the people who are familiar with the facts are deceased? Who can do a affadvit then?


Dirk Dieterich said:

Quite often I have been able to get oil company's to place interests in pay status when there are issues like this by drafting an Affidavit of Heirship, having it signed by a disinterested person familiar with the facts, and recording it and sending it to the company.

I does not perfect title, but can often get your interest in pay status.

Call them and see if it is acceptable.

Dirk

A Landman can gather as much information about the family as possible through Public and private records research and interviews and prepare such an Affidavit. Sometimes you even have to use Church Records, Family Bibles, even Cemetery Records to reconstruct family histories. One time I had to walk through a small cemetery in East Texas gathering names and dates off of Tombstones.

Like Dirk said, Affidavits do not perfect title, but are sometimes the only way to work around situations.

Charles

Joe,

It would appear from your description of the assignments that the two women from whom your grandfather received interest both received assignment of a straight-forward 1/2 of 1% participating royalty in land in Rosebud County, Montana. You say that your grandfather then used the template of the assignments to the women to make assignment of 1/6 of 1% royalty to himself and your grandmother as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Are there identical assignments from each of the ladies to your grandparents?

If the above is the case, the owner who assigned to the two women held at least 1% royalty at the time of the assignments in to them and there are no intervening assignments of record in the county out of them before they conveyed to your grandparents, then your grandfather and grandmother properly received assignment of a royalty interest in whatever lease was valid at the time of the assignments.

The interest they received was an interest in the royalty created by the oil and gas lease, and not an interest in the minerals. If the lease that was in effect at the time your grandparents received their assignment has expired, and it was not the intent of the parties that your grandparents own a fee title interest to the minerals, their interest would have expired with the lease.

This may be the issue, but again I urge you to get a copy of the title requirement.

Phyllis