Possibly inheriting lease in Canadian Co, Oklahoma from my mother and to be split between brother and myself. I’ve never known of any amount of value on the lease as I’ve seen my mother receive over the years maybe a 100 bucks here, maybe only a few cents there, and 99% of the time nothing at all. After her death in 2024 (trust still being resolved with attorneys), I’ve seen a negative amount for the checks every month and am interpreting these as production costs? However, the trend has been going up every month since the first statement I can bring up in April 2024. It was about -$1,046 then, and it has been gradually going toward zero since, and now is up to -$43. Would I assume the next monthly payment may reach zero or possibly above that and subsequent payments will be positive and sent to her trust bank account? The attorneys didn’t want to touch it as it would have been so much research and effort on their behalf chasing down attorneys in OK (our attorneys are in Alaska). Now, will it have a more tangible value if it does go to paying out each month? What are ways to split evenly the revenue for my brother and I? Not sure what would be prudent with this lease. Do I have to go through attorneys and their fees to acquire this lease for maybe a lot less than the attorney fees? I am feeling lost on knowing about what goes on with the lease and the inheritance.
Not being able to see the exact statement, it is hard to comment. (DO NOT SHOW IT ON THE FORUM). Canadian county has some very nice horizontal wells, so don’t be too quick to give up figuring this out.
Are the mineral rights in her name or in a trust? If in her name, did she have a will? If in a trust, the trust should have clear directions on how to disburse the funds. If she did not have a will, then the intestate laws of the state where she lived will be used. Did she live in Alaska or OK or elsewhere?
Are the total net amounts on the checks a positive number or a negative number? The negative numbers on most statements are the required severance and production taxes and sometimes post production costs. The top of the statement gives the columns and then the gross amounts and the net amounts. The total net amount is usually at the far right. The statement should have well names on them. If they have an “H” in the name, that is good to know.
While you are working on this, look for any missing royalties on www.missingmoney.com. You may find more out there.
Look at the statements to see if this is RI (royalty interest) for minerals versus an NRI (net revenue interest) or WI (working interest). Given the decreasing net negative total on the checks, there are two primary situations. First, there could have been a large overpayment of royalties to your mother in some prior year and the oil company is slowly recouping the overpayment out of the current royalties. So checks will start being issued when the balance becomes positive. Second, it is possible that this is a working interest (ownership of a lease / leasehold), and not an ownership of minerals. In that case, the interest would owe well operating expenses as well as be due revenues. Your mother may have received a JIB / Joint Interest Billing statement for the costs which she did not pay and that is now being recouped against the net revenues each month. Look at the check detail to see if it shows a monthly charge for JIB / Joint Interest Billing / Well Costs.