We are a small family cluster that have inherited mineral rights in Caddo County. I am very confused on the issue of the paperwork that has been done in the past and filed with the County. My oldest sister passed on some 15+ years ago. When we were approached by a landman to lease in 2017, an Affidavit of Heirship was filled out by her two daughters and sent with the appropriate will and death certificate to the landman handling the lease. The same circumstances for another sister who passed on prior to 2017. We are now in the final stages of signing another lease. We are dealing with the same landman. But he claims that the Oklahoma laws have changed regarding who can fill out and sign the Affidavit. And that the paperwork done on behalf of my two deceased sisters in 2017 has to be redone. He says that now the affidavit has to be signed by a âdisinterestedâ party. Does this sound at all reasonable?
Be careful of my advice, not an attorney. We have numerous mineral rights in this area. IMHO, the problem here is your family is dealing with the landmen. Certainly the deceased was probated, and the mineral deeds would have been filed with the County Courthouse. We have to go back to the Book and Page all the time. You will probably need an attorneyâs paralegal to find them. We use the Bass Law Firm in El Reno (town just north of there), but their main Oil and Gas attorney has now moved to the Oklahoma City office. Call and ask for Robert Stells paralegal, and just talk to her like she was a friend. She will know what to do. They have another paralegal that grew up in that area, worked the minerals for 50 years, and is a whiz. She has been in the Caddo County Courthouse there in Anadarko probably 500 times. Landmen call, tell them to go to the courthouse and do his title search which he already did, and did not find the two sistersâ probate. Hope this helps.
Thank you for your reply! The deceased was not probated. Both my sisters had trusts and lived in Oregon. No need for probate since there was a will or a trust.
We were told then (2017) that they needed an Affidavit of Heirship, filled out, signed, and notarized. Filed with Caddo County. This was done. There was never a well drilled, to our knowledge, and the lease expired.
Our mineral rights are so small, it hardly justifies going through the process and expense of probate! There has to be an easier way when youâre dealing with 2 acres!
Real estate title is governed by state law where the property (minerals) is located, not by the domicile of the owner. The size or value of real property does not affect the requirements. Some states, such as Oklahoma and New Mexico, require ancillary probate for clear title. A landman may accept an affidavit for a lease, which may or may not be accepted by the attorney issuing the drilling title opinion. An Oklahoma attorney can advise you as to what works. This is one reason some owners are filing transfer on death deeds or use an entity such as LP or LLC.
Thank you for your reply! I have already printed out the Transfer on Death Deed for myself and my one remaining sister and have advised other family members to do the same. We will try to avoid this mess for our heirs! I did hire an attorney in Oklahoma to look over our lease and advise us on that. I will consult with him. Thanks again to all!
Definitely get a lawyer for clarification. We also have rights in Caddo County; both have been leased out in the last 2 months. Offers were much more than in years past, and we were told they will definitely be drilling. So if you lease, donât let them up for a song and a dance. We received several offers, 2 of which lowballed us and gave terms great for them and not for us. Plus several of our relatives own portions of the rights and one of the landmen flat out lied and said my relatives agreed to the quoted bonus payout, when she did not. So buyer beware 
Thank you Cathy! I think we have a fairly good lease. $1500 bonus at 1/5th. I do have a lawyer who went over the lease and suggested some changes. We have very small holdings. But I do worry about the titles for those who have inherited recently.
I hope youâre right about the drilling!
Iâm not an attorney, but from a Landmanâs perspective:
If the mineral rights were placed into a Trust (on the property records in Caddo County), then successor Trustees should be able to act for the Trust, and the Affidavit of Heirship only serves to confirm that the original Trustor/Trustee is deceased and Co- or Successor Trustee(s) are then authorized to act for the Trust. If the act of getting it into the Trust was a function of the probate in another State, then a local-to-the-lands probate (or foreign probate) may be needed to enact that provision of the probate upon lands in a different state.
No. They are not in a trust in Caddo County records. There is a Small Estate Affidavit of Heirship that can be used for estates of $50,000 or less. While the estate might be over $50,000, the mineral rights would be well under $50,000. Would that be the affidavit that should be filed in Caddo County? And would that be sufficient to establish title?
At this point, I find it very confusing to say the least. Understand, for each of my Sisters, we are talking 2.28 acres! I wish I had known about the Transfer On Death Deed years ago. Sounds like that would have been the way to go.
I do appreciate the patience and understanding of everyone who is trying to help me. At this point, I know just barely enough to make me concerned but not enough to know what to do about it!
Miss Susan,
This is controlled by Oklahoma Statute Title 16, Section 67.
The title does not become marketable or cloud-free until a ten (10) year waiting (from the filing of the affidavit) period has passed. I believe you are in year 8.
My understanding is that SOME companies will go ahead and allow you to sign a lease before then (and even pay a bonus), but for big-money royalties theyâll put those in suspense (until you get an ancillary or similar probate) OR waiting for the 10 years to pass.
I agree that on unleased mineral interests in non-hot areas ancillary probate may not be worth the money and effort, but if youâve got big money coming your way and donât want to wait 10 years itâs probably worth it.
Regardless, good luck.
Actually, I am in year 30. So I should be good to go! My four sisters and I inherited half of my dadâs shares when he passed in 1980. According to Oklahoma law, my mother got half and half was divided between us 5 daughters. Then when my mother passed in 1995 we all inherited her shares.
Where it got messy was when my 3 sisters passed on. My nieces and nephews ended up with 1.14 acres each. Not likely to generate a lot of income! Do you know what happens to royalties if they decide a lessee doesnât have clear title? Does it go into a suspense fund? Unclaimed?
Perhaps I misunderstood the prior posts. The statute requires a 10-year waiting period from the date the Affidavit of Heirship meeting the requirements of Section 16-67 was filed in the deed records of the county.
I thought you mentioned those Affidavits were filed in 2017, which would mean title would not be clear until 2027.
As to your question â Yes, usually those royalties go into a suspense fund, but I donât know how long they stay in suspense until they are forfeited to the State.
Thanking you for your replies! You are right as far as my nieces and nephews go. They inherited when my sisters passed on and didnât file the affidavits until 2017. I am trying to help those members of my family as well as my remaining sister and me.
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