Hello,
First off I would just like to say that if it weren't for this site and the great people on these forums I may never have made it this far. Thank you.
By way for a brief back story, I have spent the last 20 months working my tail off to re-acquire as many records of our Family Trust's mineral rights and royalties as I can, and organize them into a database that would allow for considerably simplified future organization.
Now, I am to the point where I would like to get together with a professional that can help me to determine the most efficient way to turn them back into assets, retrieve monies held in suspense, and establish a functional mineral management platform.
With that in mind, I would like to ask the following questions:
1. What form of professional would provide the most productive assistance (lawyer, landman, mineral manager, etc... )?
2. What is generally considered to be "fair" price for said assistance?
3. Who would you recommend to a friend or family member to work with, and why?
I am kind of throwing this post out there with less tact than my previous posts, but the truth is that this is a request for help, so I see no point in beating around the bush :)
Thanks in advance for any and all help
Mathew
Clint Liles and Buddy Cotten are mineral managers active on this site. You should ask them about fee structure.
The more work you put into it yourself, the more you should be able to save in fees. In other words, if you track down all the leases, source deeds, etc. that show what you own and what its current condition is, it saves them having to piece this together.
Ideally attorneys would be used for negotiaitng leases, addressing breaches of contract, negotiating other contracts, and other things that require legal expertise.
In general, I am partial to fee based professionals, i.e. paid hourly. When you get into those paid on a commision or percentage basis, it becomes more difficult to keep transparency on what you are paying for the advice. The trick with a fee based professional is to find one who truly puts the client first and tries to hold down fees. Try to negotiaite flat fees where you can.
Good luck!
Wade, Great reply to a great question.
Bob Malone
Thank you everyone...
Wade I will reach out to both of the people you mentioned. I have followed both of them on here a bit. I appreciate your advice as a whole as well. I have put in as much time and energy as I have been able to, up to the point of wiping out my budget, which I hope to have been enough to streamline any work necessary.
Dave, I agree about maintaining a balance in all things. It is the standard by which I gauge most things in my life.