From a deceased grand uncle I have, together with some distant cousins, inherited some oil/mineral rights in Williams County, ND. A “Statement of Claim” has been filed. Would that be on behalf of all the heirs? Are there any other legal formalities involved?
Best rgds
Einar
Einar,
Were you signing as designated "Personal Representative" by the court?
Rick
Rick,
Thank you for the fast reply!
No, no court is involved, We all live outside the US - in Norway and Japan.
Best rgds
Einar,
Filling the statement of claim was an important action on your part. When I filled a mineral claim on behalf of multiple family members several years ago, I was acting as "PR" and no other action was needed by other members. Was your uncle's estate probated in North Dakota? This could get complicated, but the majority of what you need to do can be done via the web or the telephone.
Rick
Rick,
Thank you again!
Some background information.
My grand uncle died 1952, his farm, minus mineral rights, was sold, and the proceeds left to his nephews/nieces in Norway. This generation has passed away, leaving numerous offspring, most of whom I have never met. Four of us have renewed “Statement of Claim”, and I wonder if that is considered to be on behalf of all the others, or if they are out, showing no interest? Unfortunately we are not familiar with the legal system (and, of course, the legal terms), and any advice is highly appreciated.
Rgds
Einar,
Your very welcome. I can get you started, but at some point you'll probably need a representative on the ground in Williston to research your mineral deed. You have a pretty complicated chain of ownership. What is the legal description of the property? You would have put this on the "Statement of Claim" form. Something like XXX-N, XXX-W, Section(s) XX. We can at least see who owns the property's surface now, and whether there is drilling or production on your mineral acres and by whom.
Rick
Rick,
The area is in 159-96-9,
N ½ of SW Quarter, SE ¼ of SW Quarter, NW ¼ of SE Quarter.
There seems to be little activity there, but the map shows one rig in section 9, and a few in neighbour sections. It is probably not an interesting area. I have not been able to find the lat/long coordinates, and I have no idea about topography and infrastructure.
Rgds
Einar Oestensen said:
Rick,
The area is in 159-96-9,
N ½ of SW Quarter, SE ¼ of SW Quarter, NW ¼ of SE Quarter.
There seems to be little activity there, but the map shows one rig in section 9, and a few in neighbour sections. It is probably not an interesting area. I have not been able to find the lat/long coordinates, and I have no idea about topography and infrastructure.
Rgds
Einar,
As you know there is a producing well on your section. Production started in October 2014. There hasn't been a full month of production so far, but the intial numbers, given the relatively few days of production, are pretty decent. I would next contact XTO Energy, a division of ExonMobil http://www.xtoenergy.com/contact.html They probably have already done the mineral deed search saving you much time and money. The best possible out come is, they've been looking for you and your cousins. Attached is the latest production report (with GPS coordinates) and Section 9 map with surface owners.
Rick
1373-ScreenShot20150404at6.44.26AM.png (147 KB) 1374-ScreenShot20150404at6.31.04AM.png (185 KB)Rick,
Again, thank you very much. I did not know about the pages you attached, and I did not realize that production had started.
I think I`ll sit tight and wait for oil prices to recover before making any moves.
The other question is whether all the cousins are involved, or only those who filed claim?
Rgds
Einar,
Your welcome. Things have slowed a little because of the drop in prices, but the oil isn't going anywhere. XTO would have issued a "Division Order" stipulating what parties are entiltled to receive fractional royalty interest payments. One never knows how much actual due diligence XTO preforms to find mineral owners. I'd contact the well operator sooner rather than later.
Though not being a lawyer, I'd guess your claiming of the mineral rights is enough. The ND "Century Code" gives a finite window of time to claim those rights. Your claim re-sets that window. The original will is the final arbitrator of the individual mineral ownership shares. That will was more than likely probated by the court back in 1952 in ND.
Rick
Einar Oestensen said:
Rick,
Again, thank you very much. I did not know about the pages you attached, and I did not realize that production had started.
I think I`ll sit tight and wait for oil prices to recover before making any moves.
The other question is whether all the cousins are involved, or only those who filed claim?
Rgds
