Is a deed necessary for proof of ownership of mineral rights?

True and something to consider for the future. In CA probate is not required, and we had a family trust, HOWEVER, a family trust is NOT acceptable in OK so we had to probate our parents’ estate in the Oklahoma Probate Court to get the minerals into our name. It was a simple expedited probate so fairly quick and not very expensive. And yes, oil companies do some pretty screwed up things that can cause you problems.