My father is an owner of mineral interests retained by his grandmother when she sold the farm in 1955 and was acquired through Texas Laws of. Decent and Distribution from his grandmother.
There are three gas wells on the property, separate leases, inactive now but were productive 2009-2017
While researching an issue with one well
I stumbled upon unclaimed royalties for the years 2014 and 2015 for 7 ancestors who had been deceased anywhere from 9-50 years prior to those years
The interests are in Texas, the lease holder, Devon( is in Oklahoma ) and royalties we’re escheated to Oklahoma.
1 how was a clear title established when Devon never contacted the descendants ? There were 2 other wells on the property and ratification documents filed at the courthouse. It appears due diligence was not done.
Royalties for one of the decedents who passed 30 years prior to the date of the lease were never escheated and are still held by Devon.
Royalties were paid to a person who was listed on the deed in 1955 but in 1956 after a legal battle her rights to the estate were terminated by the Texas Supreme Court.
Is Devon responsible for paying what they paid to her decendents in error?
Are we entitled to interest?
Do we have any other actions to take regarding their alleged negligence?
Thank you!
Best thing to do is contact an attorney to walk you through this. Texas does allow interest payments, but there is a statute of limitations. Have you checked unclaimed funds with both Texas and Oklahoma state treasurers?
If the funds are being held by the unclaimed property division of the Oklahoma Treasurer, then you will need to apply there. They will advise you of the things needed to provide in order to make payment. If the amounts are less than $10k then an affidavit + other records should suffice. However, if the sum is over $10k they will probably require a probate + other documents.
A few housekeeping issues. As a mineral/royalty owner you should always make sure there is recent contact information of record. Check with the county tax office for an advalorem taxes that are due or past due. Make sure to ask if there are past due amounts, has a tax suit been filed. You can contact Devon and ask them to supply you with their title requirements for getting the interest transferred to your father. They may require an affidavit of heirship, probate, or additional requirements. Devon is required to make a good faith effort to locate the individuals, but this is a pretty soft requirement. The stronger requirement is that they must forward unclaimed funds to the appropriate State. In your case, the funds should have gone to the State of last residence of the mineral owner or the State of Texas where the property is located. Devon can give you a history for the States it sent unclaimed funds. Good luck and be patient.
Some states like Oklahoma do not require owners to pay ad valorum taxes on minerals. An affidavit filed with the county land records usually does the trick.
This post is not legal, tax or investment advice. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney/client relationship.