Last month with the help of a fellow forum member I was able to successfully transfer some Mineral Rights that I inherited from my mother in Shelby County, Texas to my daughter.
During the process I decided to do a little research around the area. In doing so I discovered that my mother had oil and gas interest in properties I was not aware of. She died in 1987 without a will. I am her only child and heir. It was suggested that I file an Heirship Affidavit, which I recently did in the Shelby County Clerk's office. I have found two properties in Shelby County and four in Panola County, The two in Shelby County are Warranty Deeds and the four in Panola County are Assignment Oil and Gas Lease. What is the difference in the two titles? Does an Heirship Affidavit need to be filed in each county?
I appreciate any help!
Hi Robert!
Good research! And, yes, you should file your Affidavit of Heirship in each County. Every County your Mother or other family members owned properties in.
A Warranty Deed conveys ownership in real property - tracts of land, like Houses and Farms. Unless your Mother subsequently sold the properties, you may still own them.
An Oil and Gas Lease is a contract allowing an oil and gas company to drill wells and produce oil and gas. If your Mother was assigned interests in oil and gas leases, then she was a partner in the group or groups of investors developing the properties (like a limited partnership, with one of the parties being the Managing Partner or "Operator").
If you will send me copies of the Warranty Deeds and Assignments, I will be happy to look up what I can on them.
Hope this helps -
Charles Emery Tooke III
Certified Professional Landman
Fort Worth, Texas
Hello my friend!
Thank you again for your help! I will have my daughter scan copies of the deeds and assignments then get them to you. This has become quite the adventure!
Be careful, it's addictive!
Robert -
I still haven't figured out how to send or attach files to the "Friends" Message Board so I am sending the attached this way.
I was not able to locate the specific properties in the Assignments into your Mother because of the old Boundary Tracts descriptions they used, but attached is a set of maps showing the locations of the complete Surveys.
No wells that would have or could have been drilled back in the 1930's appear to continue to produce today, so in my opinion all of the old leases your Mother was assigned interest in expired long ago.
The Mineral and Royalty Interests in the Squire Humphreys Survey may still be in her name, so you should file the Affidavit of Heirship you mentioned before in Shelby County if you have not already done so. No one appears to be interested in the area at the moment, but that may change some day.
Hope this helps -
Charles
472-VELMACONNORINTERESTSSHELBYANDPANOLACOSTX.pdf (181 KB)
I had a feeling there wasn't much going on in those areas, but I sure do appreciate your looking into it! I have an old survey map that belonged to my mother from EBY Engineering Company out of Henderson, Texas. It's a pretty old map. It breaks the survey down by parcels. All this time I thought she had it just to reference the one property. (The original 100 acres you helped me with) but lo and behold the other properties I recently discovered are on the map as well, since they are adjoining surveys! I will send you what I have showing Squire Humphries, Samuel Tidwell, and Noah Snider. I think I can locate the actual parcels that my mother had interest in ...
I'd love a copy of your map!