North Dakota Mineral rights left in trust in Washington State

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
#1

My Mother in Law who lived in Washington State and past away there, left all her assets including her mineral rights in North Dakota to the trust. She died in 2006 and the trust, whom my wife is the Trustee, still has the mineral rights. We've been told by an attorney that it will cost about 2500.00 to get it recorded right in North Dakota since it has been so long ago that she died. It cost 0$ out here because she all ready had it into the trust when she past away and was very easy for my wife to execute the trust. Does this seem like a lot of money just to file some papers in North Dakota so that the Trust will receive offers and bonus payments and Royalties for her clearly established mineral rights?

Are there other ways of doing this easier? One would hope that keeping bonuses for the estate would be easier than paying Attorney's 10-14% fees just to record her Death Certificate!

I would appreciate any insight into this situation and would also ask if it's plausable for the Oil Companies to do their research for the rights and pay for the recording themselves if they want the mineral rights.

#2

Mike, I'm not a lawyer, but I see no reason why the trust couldn't record a statement of claim and also the death certificate without using a lawyer. If the minerals were in the trust preceding your mother in laws demise, it seems to me that you may not need to probate in ND to get paid. I think at the very least you need to run it past a different lawyer. I'd like to know for my own curiosity was the lawyer that quoted 10-14% from an oil producing county ?

#3

Thanks, Robert

No, the attorney was from Montana! We could not get any assistance locally for Divide county because all the attorney's in the area are booked! Yes Mom had all her assets in her Trust for several years before she died. Thanks for your help.

r w kennedy said:

Mike, I'm not a lawyer, but I see no reason why the trust couldn't record a statement of claim and also the death certificate without using a lawyer. If the minerals were in the trust preceding your mother in laws demise, it seems to me that you may not need to probate in ND to get paid. I think at the very least you need to run it past a different lawyer. I'd like to know for my own curiosity was the lawyer that quoted 10-14% from an oil producing county ?

#4

I'm certain you don't need a lawyer for a statement of claim with contact information and I'm sure you don't need one to record a death certificate. You may not even need a lawyer to get paid as a trust, if the chain of title leading up to the trust is good. I think it couldn't hurt to consult a different lawyer, possibly a ND lawyer who specializes in family law and trusts, and I'd still suggest finding them on the Minnesota border, far, far from the oil patch.

#5

Mike, If you decide to seek a family law attorney in MN, my brother Tim McLarnan has been practing in Moorhead, MN for over 30 years. He is licensed in ND and may able to help. Good luck. Tom

#6

Thanks Tom.

Tom McLarnan said:

Mike, If you decide to seek a family law attorney in MN, my brother Tim McLarnan has been practing in Moorhead, MN for over 30 years. He is licensed in ND and may able to help. Good luck. Tom
#7

Hi, I also live in Washington state, and my father also died in about 2006. My mother inherited the mineral interests in North Dakota, and filed a statement of claim. But, when she passed away in 2008, because the minerals were actually still in my father's name in North Dakota at the courthouse, we had to have it probated there even though we did not need to do a probate in Washington state. It took about a year to get it all done and through the court system, and cost about $1000 or so. So it depends on who is named on the minerals today at the North Dakota courthouse. We used the law office of Peter Furuseth from Williston, ND. North Dakota law is quite different from Washington state, so you may need someone from the area who knows the ins and outs of it all. Hope that helps!

#8