It looks like my great, great, great, grandmother bought some mineral rights in block c of CCSD&RGNG RR CO Survey in Upton County. My grandmother and her three sisters signed a lease in 1974 and nobody has heard a word about it since until my dad got an offer to sell in the mail a few weeks ago. I have convinced him not to sell. But getting him to pay for a landman and a lawyer might be difficult.
I have done what research I can considering that nothing before 1984 is digitized, and I would love for people who know better than me to tell me why the plan I’ve come up with is terrible and what they’d do instead.
- I have contacted the Upton county clerk and am in the process of getting my father listed as heir.
- Once he is heir at the county clerk I will contact the companies with active wells and ask them what documents they need to put my father into pay status.
- Ask companies with active wells for past royalties.
- Research closed wells and changes on active wells and try to figure out past royalties.
I checked all possible names and states for unclaimed royalties. The only paperwork we have is the copy of the lease that came with the offer. Who knows where in the world that title ended up. There were four splits just in my grandmothers generation and it was never worth the paper it was printed on for multiple lifetimes.
I guess I’m asking is this a good plan? A terrible plan? I don’t mind doing some legwork but I also don’t want to shoot myself in the foot.