I inherited some mineral rights in Coal county. I understand that I have to probate the will again in Oklahoma. (It was probated in Texas.) It’s a simple 2 page will leaving everything to me.
An attorney in Coal County wanted $2000. or half the minerals to probate the will. I get very little revenue (maybe $300. per year) from the minerals. I paid considerably less than that to have the will probated in the big city.
Is this anywhere near reasonable?
bkay
You state that, “I get very little revenue (maybe $300. per year) from the minerals”.
So the questions are, are you already in pay with them and did they ask you to probate it? If they didnt ask for a probate, then spending that much to make $300 a year is insane. If they did, ask if an Affidavit of Heirship would work given the current production value. (Im an old fart retired attorney that rarely did oil and gas)
Please don’t dare give that attorney any part of your mineral rights!
Oklahoma generally requires an ancillary probate, which is not as complex as a full probate, to clear the title. The attorney does not need to be in Coal County to handle this. I would be concerned about anyone demanding one-half of minerals as compensation. You especially want to be careful as there may be new activity in your area. There are mineral owners on this site who can recommend some OK attorneys to you. This is a reason why people put minerals into an entity (LP, trust, LLC, etc) as then there is no need for state probate.
Highway robbery.
@bkay Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever give over 50% of your mineral rights for a formulaic (read, most good secretaries could do it) task as executing a probate.
An hourly rate of $200 an hr. is plenty for this kind of near clerical work.
Some responses. Don’t know the mystery lawyer involved. But he offered to do it on a money basis. Typically, then the client says, if there any other way to do this? We weren’t there. If the client would prefer to deed over minerals instead of paying money, that’s his choice. Also, before all of you think the attorney is overreaching, perhaps one should determine how many acres are involved. some of you appear to believe is 80 acres in the middle of the Permian. It is possible this is closer to three acres in the middle of goat pasture. Remember, and I know you all know this, not all minerals are created equal.
I had a bunch of different minerals in Coal county. 20 plus deeds, but only one was producing 6 years ago. I’ve since leased quite a few of them. 48k in lease payments for just one of them. More details will give a better answer.