The statute/legal authority relevant to acquiring title though an affidavit of heirship in Oklahoma. The requirements are set forth as follows:
Title 16. Conveyances
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
Section 67 - Acquiring a Severed Mineral Interest from Decedent - Establishing Marketable Title
Cite as: 16 O.S. § 67, __ __
A. After the date of death of a person who was an owner of a severed mineral interest in real estate, a person who claims such interest, immediately or remotely, through an affidavit of death and heirship recorded pursuant to Sections 82 and 83 of this title, shall acquire a valid and marketable title to such interest as against any person claiming adversely to such recorded affidavit on the conditions set forth in subsection C of this section.
B. Any purchaser for value acquiring a severed mineral interest in real estate from a person who claims such interest, immediately or remotely, through a recorded affidavit of death and heirship or a recital of death and heirship in a recorded title transaction, as that term is defined in Section 78 of Title 16 of the Oklahoma Statutes, shall acquire a valid and marketable title to such interest as against any person claiming adversely to such recorded affidavit or recital on the conditions set forth in subsection C of this section.
C. In order to establish marketable title pursuant to this section:
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The affidavit or recital must state that the decedent died without a will, or if the decedent had a will, that the will was never probated in Oklahoma and a copy of the will is attached to the affidavit or recital, or if the will was probated that the severed mineral interest was omitted from the final decree of the decedent and a copy of the will and final decree is attached to the affidavit or recital;
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The affidavit or recital must list the names of the decedent’s heirs and their relationship to the decedent;
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The affidavit or recital must state that the maker is related to the decedent or otherwise has personal knowledge of the facts stated therein;
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The affidavit or the title transaction that contains the recital must have been recorded for at least ten (10) years in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is located; and
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During the ten-year period following the recording of the affidavit or the title transaction that contains the recital, no instrument inconsistent with the heirship alleged in the affidavit or recital was filed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is located.
This section shall apply to affidavits recorded before November 1, 1999, as well as to those recorded thereafter, except that, with respect to those recorded before such date, the ten-year period specified above shall not expire until one (1) year after November 1, 1999. This section shall not apply as against any person in possession of the land, by occupancy or by occupancy of a tenant, at the time such purchaser acquires an interest in such land.
Historical Data
Acquiring a Severed Mineral Interest from Decedent - Establishing Marketable Title (oscn.net)
But also see:
Title Examination Standards
Chapter 1, App.
Chapter 3. Instruments in the Record
§3.2.1. Acquiring Severed Mineral Interests From Decedent-Establishing Marketable Title
> 3.2.1 ACQUIRING SEVERED MINERAL INTERESTS FROM DECEDENT – ESTABLISHING MARKETABLE TITLE
In part, 16 O.S. § 67 provides that a person who claims a severed mineral interest, through an affidavit of death and heirship recorded pursuant to 16 O.S. §§ 82 and 83, shall not acquire marketable title until ten (10) years after the recording of an affidavit that satisfies Part C of Section 67.
Authority: 16 O.S. §§ 53, 67, 82, and 83.
Comment 1: The term “severed mineral interest” is not defined in the Simplification of Land Titles Act although it is in the Marketable Record Title Act. Thus, while the statute explicitly states that it applies to a severed mineral interest, its application to leasehold interests (i.e. working interest, overriding royalty interests, etc.) has not been determined.
Comment 2: 16 O.S. §§ 82 and 83 provide that such an affidavit creates a rebuttable presumption that the facts stated in the recorded affidavit are true as they relate to the severed minerals.
Comment 3: Pursuant to 16 O.S. §§ 67, 82 and 83, the affidavit must contain sufficient factual information to make a proper determination of heirship. Such factual information typically includes the date of death of the decedent, a copy of the death certificate, marital history of the decedent, names and dates of death of all spouses, a listing of all children of the decedent including any adopted children, identity of the other parent of all children of the decedent, the date of death of any deceased children and the identity of the deceased child’s spouse and issue, if any. Pursuant to 16 O.S. §§ 84, the affidavit shall include the legal description of the land covered by the affidavit. If an affidavit fails to include factual information necessary to make a proper determination of heirship, the examiner should call for a new affidavit that contains the additional facts necessary for a proper determination of heirship. If a new or corrected affidavit is filed, the statutory 10-year period would run from the date of recordation of the new or corrected affidavit.
Comment 4: Title 16 O.S. § 67 does not address the effect on title of an unprobated will attached to the affidavit. Oklahoma cases have held that until a will is admitted to probate, it is wholly ineffectual to pass title to real property, including any mineral or leasehold interest, and a devisee has no right to enforce any provisions of said will. Oklahoma cases have also held that there is no time limit within which a petition for probate of a will must or can be filed. A will that has been probated in another jurisdiction but has not been probated in Oklahoma is ineffective to establish any interest or title in the persons claiming thereunder without proper Oklahoma proceedings. As a result, there is uncertainty regarding the legal effect of the attached will.
Acquiring Severed Mineral Interests From Decedent-Establishing Marketable Title (oscn.net)
There are references to other statutes/
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