Last September, a member of our family received a phone call from a landman who stated that our family was entitled to funds from mineral rights that belonged to our grandfather and were being held in receivership in Texas. He asked this family member to provide a list of all of my grandfather's heirs. Several weeks later, all of the heirs received a letter along with an agreement to sign so that this landman could obtain the money and giving him a 30% share.
While I tried to obtain further information on all of this, particularly proof that my grandfather actually owned these mineral rights, I was not able to do so. Most of the family signed and returned the paperwork, but I did not. In January, we all received our share of these mineral rights.
Yesterday, I received a certified letter from Nor-Tex and a division order that we are to sign and return to them stating the mineral interest % for my grandfather and then the % for me, as one of his heirs. It stated the volume number and page number of the deed records in Eastland County, where this division order was filed. In checking with the Eastland County clerk, my grandfather's name is not listed as one of the subscribers in the division order. I have no idea how to proceed at this point. So far, the amount of money has been minimal, especially considering this agreement was dated 12/15/61.
What is even more confusing to me is that the property name where this well is located is Hill Lake Sand Storage Unit. If I'm understanding this correctly then, there is a storage unit on the property??? We have absolutely no experience with gas wells, although my grandfather did own mineral rights in Oklahoma that we inherited when my grandmother died in 1976. I also have no idea how my grandfather was connected to this particular well in Texas. I have tried contacting this landman, but he is "out of the office due to a family illness".
If anyone could explain any of this or point us in the right direction as to how to proceed, I would greatly appreciate it. i do not want to sign paperwork stating that I agree that this % is correct or that I agree to reimburse any funds that I am not entitled.
The description of the property in Eastland County is SE/4 Section 476, S.P. Ry Co. Survey, Abstract 1520.
From what you are describing it sounds like you may have money in suspense with the Texas Comptroller. In Texas in order to collect a finders fee, as it appears this person is doing, you must be a licensed private investigator and the maximum you can collect is 10%. Now this was the law a few years back and could have changed.
The 10% maximum was my understanding also, but apparently no one adheres to that as this landman was able to obtain the funds from the court and distribute it to my family - less his 30% share. My family chose not to question the 10% maximum because they felt this was money we would have never known about without this landman. I felt that we should have refused to sign the agreement until it was changed to the 10%, but there is nothing we can do about that now.
At this point, I am the only family member questioning the 10%. I assumed that since most willingly signed the agreement and it was presented in court that the maximum did not apply.
What I am even more concerned about is that we have nothing that shows what our grandfather's interest was and now we are expected to sign agreeing to an amount. I am hoping to hear back from this landman as to how he connected all of this to my grandfather to begin with since his name was not listed on the division order that was filed as noted in the paperwork.
Division Orders are not filed at the County Clerks office. The Operator keeps Division orders filed in their office. Thats a private agreement as to the terms agreed to in the lease as to what they will pay in case a well is spudded etc and the mineral percentage the mineral owner agreed to in the Lease, they do not want to make public those kinds of documents of what their paying the Mineral public.
What Legally has to be filed at the County Clerks office in the Mineral Deed and or a Mineral Lease if your grandfather negotiated a lease for those minerals he owned for his minerals and signed a lease with his signature from the Oil company would be filed in that county. The filed lease should state what terms were negotiated in that lease. The minerals could have been owned through your grandmothers side of the family or your grandfathers. Do a search under both her maiden name and her parents names and your grandfathers parents names. Sometimes when people pass away there relatives may not now about the minerals but someone that owned that land in your family going way back probably sold the land but retained the minerals. So what you need to look up in the deed records are transactions where they sold the land under their names. They would be the grantor and had to have kept or retained the minerals or not sold them with the land. You may own more minerals than what is included with this particular division order. So look up Deeds and or leases under names going back under all your distant relatives for starters, then you can trace that to any leases that should be filed for what ever particular lease this company agreed to pay them for drilling etc.Just be careful that you are not selling your minerals to someone for peanuts. Many times companys offer to buy minerals from people that don't even know they own them for cheap and they resell them for more money or keep them to re sell later or lease for themselves. Always read the fine print and do your homework. Even if you have to hire a lawyer or another land man to look up your chain of title for your minerals. This is that storage unit and it looks like their use to be a producing gas well once upon a time that is not producing anymore. But it looks like its a storage unit or holding area where pipe lines bring and hold production from other areas.
Hill-Lake Gas Storage, LLC
Hill-Lake is located in Eastland County, Texas. Hill-Lake, a 9.3 Bcf storage field is strategically located for gas storage along the entire West Texas to Dallas/Ft.Worth to Carthage energy corridor. Hill-Lake offers storage, peaking and load-following services, parking, loaning and balancing services along this important gas transportation link. Hill-Lake is directly connected to the Atmos Line-X (36”) and North Texas Pipeline (36”).
Its good to be cautious and follow your gut instinct and not just sign any thing blindly. Do your homework first. The operator should give you more details. All the lease numbers associated with the division order etc. If there is no more production, maybe their paying some kind of fee to store their gas underground. That happens a lot in some salt dome areas around the gulf coast.
This a map on the lower right you will see Abstract 1520, but you need to now the minerals acres you own and the exact location to know which wells etc are located on your mineral property.
One of the plat maps shows a T. C. Williams of a 160 Acres Lease. in the SouthEast Section.
You can visit the Railroad Commission online and research all those well numbers above and all the docs attached and read all of them, you can learn a lot. Again it helps to know the exact minerals you inherited.
Choose the section Legacy Public Viewer its easier to use than the newer one or the first choice. Plug in your county, Abstract, survey section, make sure you choose view wells on the choices on the right. Then click on each well you want to view and follow the blue links etc
I think the land man was trying to kill two birds with one stone. As is make money telling you he found money that was held in suspense with the Texas comptrollers office in Austin and tell you hey by the way here is a division order also!!!! Google lost money with the Texas comptrollers office and plug in your name, it will tell you if you have money and how to claim it. You don't need to pay any one for that. :)
