I was adopted by my Step Father in 1970 (he's deceased) and my real father inherited Mineral Interest and I'm being told I have no rights to it since I was adopted. Is this true? Will the drilling rights and royalties all go to my real dad's 2nd wife?
Thank you,
Becky
Is the acreage in Texas? If so, I believe that is correct. Legally you could not be adopted by your step father if your birth father was still your legal father. He must have terminated his parental rights to you in order for you to be adopted. From a legal standpoint, you would not be entitled to any of his interest without a direct and express conveyance
Hi Ben... the acreage is in Stephens Co. Oklahoma, but I'm sure it's probably still the same outcome. Thanks for your response.
I suggest you at least check, just in case. State laws often differ from one another.
The law in Oklahoma is that adoption DOES NOT change the rights of a child to inherit from his/her natural parents. There is recent (within the last 10 years) case law on this subject in Oklahoma. You are entitled to inherit from your natural father.
Hi Gabe... Would I have to hire a lawyer to attest that? The spokesman for Merithon Oil said I was not entitled to any Mineral Interest rights unless my father's 2nd wife signed a "Quick Claim Mineral Deed". Are you familiar with that?
Thanks,
Becky
Gabe Bass said:
The law in Oklahoma is that adoption DOES NOT change the rights of a child to inherit from his/her natural parents. There is recent (within the last 10 years) case law on this subject in Oklahoma. You are entitled to inherit from your natural father.
thanks Ben
Ben Elmore said:
I suggest you at least check, just in case. State laws often differ from one another.
The first step would be establishing how title to the interest was held at the time of your natural father's death. That will determine whether or not it was a part of his probate estate and, thus, whether or not part of the interest would have become yours upon his death, subject to the probate of his estate. You can't inherit what he didn't own upon his death. If he transferred the interest to his 2nd wife during his lifetime (by placing it in joint tenancy with her and granting her rights of survivorship, for example), it was not part of his estate upon his death and, thus, not something that would pass to his heirs by virtue of his death. If it was titled in his name at the time of his death, then the next step is to determine if his estate was probated and, if so, what went on in that proceeding.
Becky, Stephens County is part of the drilling boom now going on in Oklahoma. Depending on how many acres are involved you could be talking about some pretty valuable mineral rights. If you have the legal description of the property I would be glad to look it up for you.
Micheal, here's what I know... it's 2 sections - 33 and 34 - in stephens co at 1 North 4 West. So, it doesn't appear to be much acreage, but it's more the principal of the matter now.
Thanks,
Becky
Michael Hutchison said:
Becky, Stephens County is part of the drilling boom now going on in Oklahoma. Depending on how many acres are involved you could be talking about some pretty valuable mineral rights. If you have the legal description of the property I would be glad to look it up for you.
Becky, I'll look these up on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission website. A section is 640 acres, chances are he owned a portion of these sections. If he owned the whole thing you are talking big bucks.
Becky, There has been some drilling in both sections, but nothing recently. The Woodford Shale play is moving in that direction and there have been some leases in the area for around $1000/acre. I am leased just to the north in 2N/4W and we are looking for a well completion any day now. If there is a chance you can acquire any of those interests it would probably be worth your effort.
Thank you Michael... I'll be discussing all this today with the go-thru guy for Marathon Oil.
I'll keep you posted and I appreciate all your help.
Becky
Michael Hutchison said:
Becky, There has been some drilling in both sections, but nothing recently. The Woodford Shale play is moving in that direction and there have been some leases in the area for around $1000/acre. I am leased just to the north in 2N/4W and we are looking for a well completion any day now. If there is a chance you can acquire any of those interests it would probably be worth your effort.
The latest news is this... I was advised if I don't want to spend my money on an attorney that I should just wait until they have a "Forced Pull Hearing" to get the deed clean... Then we could bring up these concerns on their dime in a court hearing. Does this sound like a good idea?
B. Pruett said:
Thank you Michael... I'll be discussing all this today with the go-thru guy for Marathon Oil.
I'll keep you posted and I appreciate all your help.
Becky
Michael Hutchison said:Becky, There has been some drilling in both sections, but nothing recently. The Woodford Shale play is moving in that direction and there have been some leases in the area for around $1000/acre. I am leased just to the north in 2N/4W and we are looking for a well completion any day now. If there is a chance you can acquire any of those interests it would probably be worth your effort.
Sounds like a very creative idea. I'm not sure it would work though. Your issues may be outside the scope of a pooling hearing. I know that elsewhere, they don't have to know who owns everything to force pool. If you are looking to lease, I would find out what I own and record my claim. Allow the lessee to come to you, or if they drill a well inform them of your existence. If you want to keep away from lawyers I wouldn't warrant title if you lease. Good luck.
B. Pruett said:
The latest news is this... I was advised if I don't want to spend my money on an attorney that I should just wait until they have a "Forced Pull Hearing" to get the deed clean... Then we could bring up these concerns on their dime in a court hearing. Does this sound like a good idea?
B. Pruett said:Thank you Michael... I'll be discussing all this today with the go-thru guy for Marathon Oil.
I'll keep you posted and I appreciate all your help.
Becky
Michael Hutchison said:Becky, There has been some drilling in both sections, but nothing recently. The Woodford Shale play is moving in that direction and there have been some leases in the area for around $1000/acre. I am leased just to the north in 2N/4W and we are looking for a well completion any day now. If there is a chance you can acquire any of those interests it would probably be worth your effort.
There is nothing wrong with forced pooling, it just gets everyone on board who has not already been leased. The problem in your case is that you don't know who legally owns what. If it was me I would want to know where I stood long before a well is drilled and the proceeds are divided. I discovered the hard way that the burden of proof for leasing is not near as high a standard as proof of ownership is when it is time for royaltys to be paid. As Mr. Bass and Mr. Kennedy said you need to know the details of your fathers estate to determine what rights you have. If your stepmother does not have a probated will or other documentation to back up her claim you may be able to file an Affidavit of Heirship with the Stephens County Clerk. If she has documentation on file with the county and you have nothing they will pool her and not you. In my case someone got sloppy and pooled both of us, now we are in limbo on who gets the royaltys.
B. Pruett said:
The latest news is this... I was advised if I don't want to spend my money on an attorney that I should just wait until they have a "Forced Pull Hearing" to get the deed clean... Then we could bring up these concerns on their dime in a court hearing. Does this sound like a good idea?
B. Pruett said:Thank you Michael... I'll be discussing all this today with the go-thru guy for Marathon Oil.
I'll keep you posted and I appreciate all your help.
Becky
Michael Hutchison said:Becky, There has been some drilling in both sections, but nothing recently. The Woodford Shale play is moving in that direction and there have been some leases in the area for around $1000/acre. I am leased just to the north in 2N/4W and we are looking for a well completion any day now. If there is a chance you can acquire any of those interests it would probably be worth your effort.
I agree with Mr. Hutchison. Force pooling is not going to do anything to cure your title issue. The operator will pool the interest of anyone that could possibly have a claim and then, if and when the well produces, place the interest in suspense (meaning hold the money) until those with competing claims to the interest sort it out by agreement or through litigation. My main concern in your situation is that you may have been left out of any probate of the interest of your natural father. It's possible that the court was never advised of your existence because either the personal representative (and/or his/her lawyer) was unaware of you or unaware that you should have been considered an heir to your father's estate. They may have mistakenly believed that your adoption terminated your right to inherit from him. If this happened, the court would have entered an order distributing the minerals to whomever appeared to be entitled to them and the operator of the well has no reason to believe you are entitled to anything and unless you file something to assert a claim, they will have no reason to pool you or even communicate with you about this interest. This all assumes there was even a probate...which gets back to my initial point- you need to determine the status of the title to the property at the time of your father's death. Until you do that, discussion of anything else is premature.
So, without hiring a lawyer and spending money that may not even be worth it, what would my next step be? Do I contact the Court House of the county my father died in to find out about a will, or do I just try to file something with the Stephens County Clerk for heirship? I'm not familiar with any of these proceedings and not sure where to go from here.
Gabe Bass said:
I agree with Mr. Hutchison. Force pooling is not going to do anything to cure your title issue. The operator will pool the interest of anyone that could possibly have a claim and then, if and when the well produces, place the interest in suspense (meaning hold the money) until those with competing claims to the interest sort it out by agreement or through litigation. My main concern in your situation is that you may have been left out of any probate of the interest of your natural father. It's possible that the court was never advised of your existence because either the personal representative (and/or his/her lawyer) was unaware of you or unaware that you should have been considered an heir to your father's estate. They may have mistakenly believed that your adoption terminated your right to inherit from him. If this happened, the court would have entered an order distributing the minerals to whomever appeared to be entitled to them and the operator of the well has no reason to believe you are entitled to anything and unless you file something to assert a claim, they will have no reason to pool you or even communicate with you about this interest. This all assumes there was even a probate...which gets back to my initial point- you need to determine the status of the title to the property at the time of your father's death. Until you do that, discussion of anything else is premature.
In my opinion, you have two options- (1) forget about it; or (2) hire someone with expertise. I don't think you have a "do-it-yourself" problem that you are trying to solve.
I agree this sounds like something needing expertise in the state laws involved. However it is not a waste of time to contact the Stephens County Clerk and ask about wills filed, probated, etc. and get copies of pertinent paperwork. I am not familiar with Oklahoma law but in another state the policy is that there be filed an inventory of the contents of the estate that were owned by the decedent IN THAT COUNTY at time of death. Perhaps that is also the situation in Oklahoma. If so, this document and the will should help you see what was involved.
