I never received a ratification to sign and as a result my royalties were given to others. this does not seem fair. I think the royalties should have been held in suspense and then turned over to the state after a period of time. Has this ever happened to anyone? I think I am going to have to get an attorney.
Diana:
I think that you need to go into more detail about what occurred from the time you either leased the minerals or from the time you inherited the minerals. Maybe these details will help someone visualize your situation and with this information, one might be able to draw a conclusion on what might be taking place.
Diana, I have had my royalty paid to someone else, although I think my case was different than yours, a simple landman mistake not realizing that there were two Robert Kennedy's. Robert A. Kennedy probably had some nice checks for awhile. In your case, paying someone else for your interest because you never received the ratification to sign does not sound proper. Just because you didn't sign the ratification does not mean that you don't have an interest and I wouldn't think that it would transfer your interest to someone else. I think if they actually are paying someone else your royalty, that a mistake has been made. Please tell us how you know that your royalty is being paid to someone else, it may provide a clue to what has happened. You may have to get a lawyer, sometimes a lawyer is necessary because the lessee/operator simply will not listen to you, even for things that would be fairly easy to work out and in both sides interest to resolve outside of court.
Dear Ms. McDonald,
Your lands are in Texas per your profile. I also suspect that you either have a non-participating royalty interest or an unleased mineral interest.
It sounds more like you have a non-participating royalty interest that is not part of the drillsite tract. If that is the case, then your interest cannot be pooled without your consent. There is nothing to stop you from ratifying a unit that if you are a NPRI. However, if the Operator wants to play hardball, then your pay begins as of the date of ratification.
If you are an unleased non-drillsite mineral owner, then you could be in real jeopardy. The remedy is to ask the operator wants a free lease and include you in the unit. They may say yes, but if they do, it comes out of their pocket.
I have three part series on pooling on the blog posts here for Texas interest owners. To read those may offer more explanation that the snippet here.