This is in regard to a previous post about my mom’s non-executive mineral rights, and a letter she received from a Landman with a bonus offer per net mineral acre.
Yesterday, Landman offered to send my mom a copy of the document they are asking her to ratify. My sibling and I have received sound advice from this site and we are wanting to keep our options open. So after discussion with my mom and sibling, I gave the Landman the go-ahead to send a copy of the ratification document in my mother’s name, along with a copy of the lease signed by the executive owner of the land AND for him to send her bonus money as well, with a receipt of bonus consideration. I didn’t commit to signing the ratification, but said we would look over it.
He didn’t argue about sending the bonus money or a copy of the lease…however today, he contacted me and said he spoke with his boss…who is actually the Oil Company (I think) and the company said they need a copy of my parents Will. I have already told him that the Will has been in place for several years, and we already know exactly how everything will trickle-down and be distributed.
So…my question is, “In order for my mom to get her bonus money…does she have to send a copy of her Will to the Landman/Oil Company”??? I told him I would check into this, and he said that was fine and that he was mailing the ratification document tomorrow. Nothing was said about mailing the bonus check or copy of the lease.
Ugh…
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
Lale
Your parents will is none of their business and it won't invalidate the lease they are already bound to.
Thank you R W! My mother is the non-executive owner of some mineral rights on a piece of land. A lease has already been signed and negotiated with bonus per acre and royalty percentage with the executive owner. My mom has been asked to sign a ratification agreement, plus she has been offered a certain amount of bonus money per mineral acre. We have been advised not to ratify so we can keep our options open. However, she is still due the bonus money…no matter what.
So, it would be safe for me to tell him that we will not be providing them with a copy of the Will…however, we do still want to see a copy of the lease signed by the executive owner AND the bonus check that has been offered to my mother?
I want to make sure I don’t say something to him that isn’t factual.
Thanks again,
Lale
Dear Ms. Gasper,
They do not to see a living person's will. You mentioned "my parent's will" Did your parents have a joint will?
Assuming your father is deceased and the will was admitted to probate, you can certainly tell him where the will was probated.
It behooves the oil company to play nice at this point. Their ultimate goal is for you to execute a Ratification of Lease. You can always ratify a lease, but not as to the pooling provision. But that is not what they want.
Step 1. Get your money. Demand it in a formal matter (a firm demand letter). Build your paper trail right now, if you have not done it before.
Buddy Cotten
Buddy gives good advice as usual and I agree that they have no need to see a living persons will. If your father has passed and his estate probated, that would be public record. You could tell them in which county the estate was probated to speed things up.
It really sounds like poor landman work if they have a lease and are seeking a ratification and there is a probate of a will or estate out there somewhere that they have not seen that could impact ownership.
You need a demand letter, politely worded but still a demand letter.
I am curious as to whether there is a single lease with everyones name or whether there is a separate lease for each mineral owner.
Yes, your parents' will DOES matter if it was a Joint Will, your father is deceased, and the Will was filed for Probate. In that scenario, the landman / title lawyer would need to have some documentation about what happened to Dad's interest. I see no reason not to provide a certified copy of it if you have one, or direct the landman where to get a certified copy of it, the point being to make it EASY for the landman to send you MONEY!
It is not necessarily poor landman work if there is a Probate out there somewhere and the landman did not find it. I have seen cases where the minerals were in one state, the mineral owner lived in another state, and the Probate was filed in a third state where the Decedent died. Yes, the Probate lawyer should have filed a Certified Copy of Probate in the first two states, but as we all know things don't always get done right, even with attorneys involved!
It sounds like a very reasonable request, along the lines of title curative work.
This is a phase that is very common. It is true that you could have provided more information regarding the joint will issue etc..
When an attorney is hired to probate a will, I don't know that it is necessarily on him to make sure that certified copies are filed in every county where a mineral owner owns minerals. The mineral owner's family, beneficiaries, also has to take responsibility in that regard.
If they want the title searcher to be able to locate them as the current owner, they need to have the record reflect that, by filing certified copies of probates, heirship affidavits, etc. Again, when an attorney is hired to probate a will, I don't think that it is considered legal malpractice if they personally do not file certified copies in every county where the testator owns minerals.
r w,
There is a single lease, because my mom is a non-executive owner of a portion of the mineral rights on the land. From what I’ve read, because she’s a non-executive owner, she cannot negotiate a lease, etc.
The reason the Landman hasn’t found a copy of a Probate, is because one doesn’t exist. My parents chose a non-family member to be the executor of their Will…many years ago. However, I do know “for certain” that it exists and “for certain” exactly how they chose to distribute any assets. We have a very small family, just my sibling and I, each with a living husband and two living adult children each (4 grandchildren for my parents). My father died several years ago…which passed his 1/2 of everything, to my mother. After he passed, the executor sought advice from an attorney about probating the Will…and the attorney felt it wasn’t necessary.
I have contacted a very qualified professional to hire as a consultant in order to help guide our family the rest of the way. I’m waiting to hear back from this person.
r w, thank you for once again…for your time, and for reiterating and explaing things to me. It is greatly appreciated.
Lale
Pete,
Thank you for adding to the discussion! There is no probate or certified copies to be found. Please read my reply to r w, as it will help explain more.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my question.
Thanks again,
Lale
Pete Wrench said:
Yes, your parents’ will DOES matter if it was a Joint Will, your father is deceased, and the Will was filed for Probate. In that scenario, the landman / title lawyer would need to have some documentation about what happened to Dad’s interest. I see no reason not to provide a certified copy of it if you have one, or direct the landman where to get a certified copy of it, the point being to make it EASY for the landman to send you MONEY!
It is not necessarily poor landman work if there is a Probate out there somewhere and the landman did not find it. I have seen cases where the minerals were in one state, the mineral owner lived in another state, and the Probate was filed in a third state where the Decedent died. Yes, the Probate lawyer should have filed a Certified Copy of Probate in the first two states, but as we all know things don’t always get done right, even with attorneys involved!
Hi Dave,
I really appreciate you taking the time to offer your thoughts on the situation. You will find more details about my parents Will, and probate…in the reply I made to r w.
I’m waiting to hear back from the consultant my family hopes to hire. I’m thinking that the problem would be solved if an affidavit of heirship was filed by the executor of the Will. I will wait and see what the consultant thinks.
Dave, your advice has helped me tremendously!
Lale
Dave Quincy said:
It sounds like a very reasonable request, along the lines of title curative work.
This is a phase that is very common. It is true that you could have provided more information regarding the joint will issue etc…
When an attorney is hired to probate a will, I don’t know that it is necessarily on him to make sure that certified copies are filed in every county where a mineral owner owns minerals. The mineral owner’s family, beneficiaries, also has to take responsibility in that regard.
If they want the title searcher to be able to locate them as the current owner, they need to have the record reflect that, by filing certified copies of probates, heirship affidavits, etc. Again, when an attorney is hired to probate a will, I don’t think that it is considered legal malpractice if they personally do not file certified copies in every county where the testator owns minerals.
Hi Buddy,
If you haven’t already, please see the private message I sent to you!
Thanks… I appreciate your advice so very much.
Buddy Cotten said:
Dear Ms. Gasper,
They do not to see a living person’s will. You mentioned “my parent’s will” Did your parents have a joint will?
Assuming your father is deceased and the will was admitted to probate, you can certainly tell him where the will was probated.
It behooves the oil company to play nice at this point. Their ultimate goal is for you to execute a Ratification of Lease. You can always ratify a lease, but not as to the pooling provision. But that is not what they want.
Step 1. Get your money. Demand it in a formal matter (a firm demand letter). Build your paper trail right now, if you have not done it before.
Buddy Cotten
Mineral Manager
Yes, you are right. I missed that follow-up. It sounds like you may be on the right track now. Good luck.