Mineral vs Royalty interest

Does anyone know of a resource that comprehensively explains the different ways royalty and mineral interests can be held? I understand that RI can be held without MI and vice versa. I’m doing the research on minerals my family leased in 1955. There have been many conveyances by the various family members over the years (22 original lessors) and I’m trying to trace the different interests that were conveyed.

If you’re REALLY wanting to go in depth, this has been the best resource I’ve found. https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Gas-Law-Nutshell-Nutshells/dp/0314289585

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That is a very good resource!

A mineral interest owner also possesses the right to receive lease bonuses, delay rental payments, shut-in payments and royalties . A “ royalty interest ,” on the other hand, is the property interest created that entitles the owner to receive a share of the production. (from lexicology . com)

The mineral interest may or may not be productive. A royalty interest comes out of a mineral interest.

Several short but good definitions can be found by using a search engine and typing in “types of mineral interests and royalty interests”. Several sites will come up.

Thanks for the info.

My family owned the surface and minerals before 1955. They signed a lease in 1955 and the minerals have been producing since then. I guess I’m looking for an easy way to determine what interests were conveyed or retained by and to whom. My great-grandmother was one of the 22 original lessors. She never conveyed any interest to her children, from what I understand it was all inherited. All three children received regular payments. So does that mean the RI alone was inherited? Does the MI follow simultaneously? What happens if there are no recorded conveyances to family/descendants?

jM: In short, the production from the minerals is called royalty. It is possible to convey one & not the other but under the information provided I doubt they were ever differentiated. If there are no conveyances then inheritance is per the laws of succession of the state where the minerals reside. There are different rules for those with Wills & those without. It sounds like you need to do several Probates to get the title into the proper parties. You should gather all the heirs information possible & hire a lawyer to get things in order.

Thanks Todd, sounds pretty clear. And then there’s the matter of the mysterious theft of the mineral estate in 2012 that I didn’t find out about until 2018. My landman is preparing the abstract now and I hope to retain counsel in a few months.

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