How can I protect my mineral rights from the worst case scenario?
Worst case scenario: I lose my job, run out of money, catastrophic medical expenses, file bankruptcy, then lose my mineral rights.
Could I set up a "family trust" consisting of myself, my spouse and children and transfer the mineral rights, etc to the family trust?
Any other ideas???
We worked with a firm that had an attorney that specializes in estate planning and who also had a CPA background. We also discussed options with a separate CPA firm. Inheritance taxes should be a big concern because even if there are no producing wells, your heirs might be taxed on potential value. Probably the key reason for some of the estate planning. End result, the surface acreage is in an LLC, the minerals are in an LLC, which are inside of a trust. I know of two other people who live in different states who did something similar. If you don't know who to go to, ask an officer at your bank for a referral. In the state I live in, you must have more than one member who owns the LLC to protect it from a lawsuit such as a personal injury lawsuit. I see the word trust on a lot of wells but seldom see the word LLC. Key advice...a good law firm should provide you with a free one hour consultation and be able to give you an estimate of the costs. My bill was a little over $3000 to set the LLCs, trust, will, power of attorney, living will, etc.. It was tedious and low on my entertainment scale to do it, but it was worth it. My family will appreciate it because the "business" will flow seamlessly to them.
Good luck.
Jessica