I have recently been informed that I and my siblings may be heirs to non-producing oil interests in Howard County, TX that were acquired by our grandfather in 1950. They have never been drilled due to economic infeasibility. They have never been claimed by any heirs, as there was no paper trail to identify them in wills, probate, etc. No one knew they existed.
Does anyone know if property taxes are assessed differently from producing assets to non-producing assets? How do we find this out? A royalty company informed us of the interests and has offered to purchase them, and we don’t want to get stuck with possibly 70 years of unpaid property taxes that could be worth more than the property itself.
I contacted the Howard County Tax Assessor, and they told me they have no record of interests in my Grandfather’s name, yet we were provided a copy of the Royalty Deed acquired by the royalty company, showing the seller’s and buyer’s names.
I’m very confused here.