Lost Legacy owner

I found out that I inherited mineral rights and my family hid it from me for 50 years! Both of my parents were killed so I don’t know much about my relatives. I am having real trouble finding legal representation and I don’t really know much about royalties. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Thank you

Welcome to the forum. If you post which state, you may get better answers as there are various places to search for information.

This is in Okmulgee County Oklahoma . .

You could search on www.okcountyrecords.com for names in your family. The online records only go back to the early 1990s, so you may have to go to the courthouse for anything older.

If you post the section, township and range, we can tell you if there are any royalties.

There are several OK attorneys listed in the Directories tab above.

You also might want to invest in having the title run. If you have an interest you still may be able to claim it. A landman could be retained for the purpose. Having your ancestors’ names and data is helpful.

S26-T13N-R12E S35-T13N-R12E S2-T12N- R12E S1- T12N- R12E Okmulgee County,Ok. Thank you

S26-T13N-R12E - There was quite a bit of activity in the mid 50’s to 60’s in the section. There is still one active well set called the Gladys 1-A, 2-A . The operator is GOMACO Operating Company, Inc. You might contact them to see if they have history. You may have to prove your title for them to give information.

S35-T13N-R12E- Same story here. One well still active. Curtis 1-35. John H. Booth is operator.

S2-T12N- R12E- There was a field here, but all wells have been plugged. However, if the field is still alive in other sections, then you may have royalties associated with the larger secondary recovery.

S1- T12N- R12E- there was a horizontal well drilled from this section into the section 6 to the east. No royalties for you, but would be interesting to see if you could get title clear in case there are more someday.

For all of these, you will need exact descriptions. You may not have royalties if your acreage is in the NW4 of a section and the well is in the spacing in the SE4 for example. There were some old big fields with secondary recovery initiations, so in that case your acreage might have been included in the pooled unit. If you need to recover past royalties from family that knowingly took the royalties, that is a legal issue and you will need an attorney to help in that.

You said you found out you inherited. Was there a will, was there a probate, etc.? The title must be filed in the county courthouse, so you may need some legal help to make sure that it is documented correctly.

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