Locating deceased Grandmother’s mineral oil and gas leases and Royalty checks

General Mineral Rights Discussion
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My Grandmother passed away a few years back. She verbally told me that she wanted me to have her mineral oil and gas leases and royalties. They started out in Tx. Where she was a resident until death. BP oil had them and then some oil company in Louisiana bought them. I am needing to locate the oil company and the parish that they are in. I’m needing a change of ownership from my deceased Grandmother’s name and address to mine so that I can receive mineral Royalty checks owed to me , Dividends and interest and present and future checks sent to me. Please help me with this matter. Thank you! Rachelle from Kansas

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Boy. Do you have a task ahead of you. I’m living this RIGHT NOW ! If there is a probated will AND you are listed in the will, then your uphill battle is already 1/2 over. If it’s NOT listed, you’ll need to 1st prove who you are in relation to the deceased and have ALL paper work that shows you are legit. (that’s a hard lengthy part that I’m in right now). You will have to prove/send to the gas/oil company all of their required/requested paperwork. That will take a few months to clear up. THEY ARE NOT IN A RUSH :roll_eyes:. the other 1/2 of the problem is finding the gas leases. I don’t know how to find gas leases in Louisiana. I can only suggest going through as much of your grandmothers paperwork to find the gas/oil companies letter/paystubs and start there. ——————- My gas lease problem is from the late 1800’s and I’m looking for descendants of the names in the Will. The gas lease is active and Exxon has 2 active gas wells accumulating royalties. The royalties are being held in the county clerk’s office and I can’t get my share released even though I’ve proven my “Heirship”. Apparently, by law, I have to find EVERYONE :frowning: Lord help us :folded_hands::folded_hands::folded_hands:

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I’ve been working on a similar situation since March. Do you know the county where your grandmother lived and passed? Some Texas counties have a self-search portal that you can use for free - if she ever signed a lease or similar document that was recorded in that county, you might be able to find enough there to get you started.

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Without a probated will, the minerals will pass under the state intestacy laws for state where real property is located. If there are living children (your parents or aunts or uncles) or other grandchildren, then they will also likely inherit. A verbal statement is not sufficient to overcome intestacy laws. These laws vary from state to state.

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You can start searching for the Texas ones using www.texasfile.com using her name and the mineral search option.
You can also hunt through the missing money at the TX state treasurer’s office. You will have to prove that you are an heir. There may be other heirs as stated above. Verbal promises are insufficient.