Probate in North Dakota

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
1

Good day folks,

I have a couple of oil well bearing leases in ND. I was told I would have to re-probate in ND if I wanted to be paid my royalties. My minerals were probated in Texas in 2005. Can anyone give me the straight skinny on this? TIA

Wes Luke

2

Hi Wes. Our family also has mineral interest's in ND. SOME of the oil companies do require probate to be done there. I was told that they have been "burned" by a lot of people on this. EOG Resources is one that requires probate up there. We ARE currently probating all of our sections in ND to get this problem resolved. We too have other states we have interest's in and they didn't require probates. It doesn't matter that you had another state probate done. Our royalty payments are in "suspense" until probate is done and that is standard policy.

Debbi

3

It's true Wes, they can require you to probate in ND. You can use any county in North Dakota though and I recommend you pick one as far from the oil patch as possible, should speed things up considerably and might even be cheaper. Robert

4

Hi Debbi,

Thanks for your input. This is what I was hoping to get.

Yours,

Wes Luke

5

Hi Robert,

You say they CAN require that I probate. Does that mean in some cases they may not?

Yours,

Wes

6

Hi Wes, glad I could help. North Dakota is so exciting and I love knowing we have wells there. Our grandparents purchased the mineral rights starting back in 1952 in ND. If you have any other questions I hope I see the posting.

Wes Luke said:

Hi Debbi,

Thanks for your input. This is what I was hoping to get.

Yours,

Wes Luke

Debra (Debbi) S. Lee Neff said:

Hi Wes. Our family also has mineral interest's in ND. SOME of the oil companies do require probate to be done there. I was told that they have been "burned" by a lot of people on this. EOG Resources is one that requires probate up there. We ARE currently probating all of our sections in ND to get this problem resolved. We too have other states we have interest's in and they didn't require probates. It doesn't matter that you had another state probate done. Our royalty payments are in "suspense" until probate is done and that is standard policy.

Debbi

7

Wes, it's up to the operator if they accept your out of state probate or not. Some operators have paid on an affidavit of heirship. I think many operators will require the probate in ND just because they can hold your money interest free until it is done. I am concerned that some people may have to get a loan to pay the probate lawyer so they can get the money to pay off the loan. If you have to get a lawyer, bite the bullet and do it. The lawyers rates aren't getting any cheaper. Robert

8

Robert,

You have a very valid point. Many people who inherit minerals can't afford them, literally. It's such a shame that people run over other people the way they do. Maybe someone will take pity on them and help them.

Yours,

Wes