Hello - I was told by the First Purchaser that I could get a copy of my grandmother’s oil leases from the Operator. When I spoke with the Operator, they told me they do not have copies of my grandmothers lease and told me to call the Circuit Court where the wells are located but they do not have a copy either.
My question is this, since there is no lease on file anywhere, what should the next steps be? Should I ask for a new lease, should I contact a Landman or hire an attorney? I’m not comfortable signing a Division Order which states," The Division Order does not amend any lease or operating agreement between the interest owners and the lessee or operator…" I don’t think it would be wise to arbitrarily sign the Division Order without knowing what the terms are in the Lease Agreement.
If the property is under a valid existing lease, then you will not get a new lease. There should be a recorded lease or memorandum of lease on file. Is it possible that your grandmother was not the original lessee, but inherited or purchased the minerals after they were leased by another family member (grandfather, aunt, etc) or a third party? The operator should be able to give you a reference as to the filing. Otherwise, you will need to do a title search from your grandmother back in time to find the original owner or lessee. Sometimes a name is spelled incorrectly in the system.
The operator may have said Circuit Court, but really meant the recorder of deeds and leases in the county courthouse in Union County. As TennisDaze said, the lease may be filed under another name.
You can ask the operator what royalty and how many net acres they are carrying for you and under whose name their Division Order title opinion credits you the title. In some cases, you can ask very politely to have a copy of the paragraph of the title opinion that pertains to your acreage since you are trying to get your records in order and just inherited. Piecing together those clues can get you closer to an answer on whether the decimal is correct.
Thank you, this is useful information. My grandmother inherited the minerals from her father. If the operator is unable to help, then I will do a title search. Thanks again for your response.