We lost our father recently and I am just finding out about a maternal grandmother family trust or something like that. And with the step mother trying to force 2 of us to sign over rights I’m starting to think something is not right. I see other posts asking about activities and followed suit but in wrong areas. I think I’m in the right place now. Could anyone give me information on Lots 1& 2 section 31 10n 8w? And I believe she has started a probate process but I don’t know how to protect myself and my brother. Thank you in advance & bless you.
You need to get some legal help. Do NOT sign anything away. The attorney should be able to get a copy of the trust and read its rules and beneficiaries. You need to find out if there was a will, etc. You need to find out if you and your brother are beneficiaries or not. With blended families, things can get complicated. You need to find out who the trusteee for the trust is, if any royalties from wells went into the trust, if any bonus money from leases went into the trust, if there are any other properties, etc.
Lots 1 and 2 are on the W2 of the NW4 of section 31. The west side of a township often has adjustments due to the curvature of the earth. They are not quite 40 acres. Lot 1 is 36.90 acres and Lot 2 37.32 acres. You may own a portion of it. You need to have the exact description such as 1/8th of lot 1, etc. Land Status Record Details - BLM GLO Records. I tried to make a pdf for you, but it is not behaving properly. Look up Documents, then LSR, then Oklahoma, then 10 North and 8 West. Master Title Plat. Zoom to the lower left corner to see your section 31.
TPR was planning to drill a horizontal well there, but it has been dismissed at the moment.
So sorry to hear about your father and it looks like you may have to stand your ground. The probate will have to be finished and the final documents filed in the state and county in which your dad died and also in Grady County. There are several attorneys listed in the Directory above.
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I thank you so very much. I will be getting an attorney for sure. Oh and I can promise you that I will not be signing anything. I just found out some seriously bad issues that will need to be addressed, maybe criminally. So your advice is right on time! Again, thank you so much!
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I agree with Martha that you need to get an attorney. If a probate has been started, you should be getting a notice as all heirs are obligated to receive notice. In the interim, you might be able to find or see if a probate has been started on oscn.net
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Hang in there. You have quite a bit to discover and get settled. There are quite a few horizontal wells in the sections all around you, so that is good news. Get the estate settled and filed and hopefully you will be able to get some royalties someday. In the meantime, read the Mineral Help Tab above and read the BLOGS category on the forum. Read as much as you can on the Grady County part of the forum so you can get caught up to date on what is happening, get answers to other folks’ questions, etc. Welcome to the oil business!
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Oh boy! I am definitely late to the game! I have another question for you though. My cousin tells me that the Grady county land is held in something called Scott family land trust or family trust. How do I find the trustee. I honestly can’t seem to get any definitive answers from anyone in the family. It’s so weird right now, the way everyone started behaving when I found out. Seems I was supposed to be registered at birth, bothers and sister was. Any information you could pass along or even better links for research is awesome sauce!
A trust will be filed with the court clerk -you can get a copy of it there.
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I’m told the land was the parcel granted to great #?? Grandfather Scott. Even that will be with the court clerk in Grady county?
If it was granted at statehood, the patent will be on the records listed at glorecords.com website I listed above. You can find who the original grantee was there.
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Generally, you will only find a “memorandum of trust” or similar instrument. Typically this tells who the trustee is and little other information. You might be able to find the name of the attorney who drafted the trust and request the actual trust agreement from him or her.
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Actually, since this was a testamentary trust it was created by a the decedent’s Will. This can be viewed at http://www.oscn.net/dockets/GetDocument.aspx?ct=grady&bc=CC17101300000478&cn=PB-2017-00173&fmt=pdf It provides for lifetime income to the spouse.
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I recently called the Royalty Division of on oil company requesting payment and a DO since the well has been in payment status since Dec. 2018. My ownership is recoded in Grady Co. as being in my Family Trust. I received an email respone informing me I have mineral interests from an undivided mineral interest according to a document dated 1941. I was also informed I must have this part titled to the Trust in order to receive payment on any of the mineral interest. I am totally unaware of any other interests I own. What do I do?
Royce- if you are the titled owner from the 1941 conveyance, you need to feed the property to the trust.
Todd, I understand. But I have no knowledge from my deceased mother/father, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins of this ownership.I contacted one of the landmen for this company and he said he could make a mineral deed for me that I could file at the courthouse. But, I have no knowledge of owning such property.
Royce- I would go with the knowledge that the landman has. Obviously he knows the county records for this tract or he wouldn’t be able to make the judgement that you or your family members own something.
Thank you, Todd. I’ll check it out.
- The landman cannot transfer property to you by a deed unless it is his own property.
If estates have not been probated, that can be taken care of even if there are multiple decedents. The landman may be able to identify who has the current ownership according to the land records. Then you work backwards from yourself to determine whose estates must be probated.
I am quickly finding that family lore and realities can be vastly different and that the links I have been trying from all the folks here are a plethora of content to set things right in that department. Just amazing y’all folks keep your hats on straight! Whew! Thanks so much!!