My family members and I have mineral rights in Duchesne County, UT. There are a few wells, and we are receiving payments from a few companies but one company is holding funds in suspense and is requiring the estates of those we’ve inherited from to be opened and probated. I don’t understand why one company requires that and not the others? The well I’m referring to is Fitzgerald UT 9-35 4-2-2-11-1H, previously operated by Ovintiv (who stated the request for probate), now FourPoint. I’m very puzzled at this and it is taking over a year now for the Utah attorney to meet the operator’s request. We’d appreciate any help or resolution on this.
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Some companies will only require heirship affidavits from mineral owners who’ve inherited mineral interests to pay initial lease bonuses when oil & gas leases are signed, but they’ll hold royalty payments on production in suspense until estates have been probated. It can also happen when a company has purchased a producing well or wells from another company. It’s a common practice. It happens a lot, and it’s one that protects everyone involved. Probating estates can take awhile. Longer if mineral rights are involved and a patent to present mineral title has to be performed to confirm what % of the mineral estate your relatives had on the lands. Especially if there are any perceived clouds on title or dubious conveyances in the chain of title. Duchesne County has its fair share of those instances. You might ask your attorney if there is anything that appears in the mineral title on the lands - outside of your relatives estates having not been probated - that has set off the requirement for probating the estates.