Signing lease effortlessly unwise?

my cousin wrote me that he didnt negotiate at all. he just read the proposal and signed it. this was back in 2011 williams county north dakota. these were mineral rights that were intestated via our grandfather. an old parcel purchase long forgotten. grandpa died in 1981. how unusual is that move ? to sign without any negotiation nor did he have oil gas lawyer advising him of course. he was under assumption the acreage would be dormant. even tho this was at thee beginning of the Boom in williston area and oil at 105…i have not seen the lease yet. so dont know what that 1st offer entailed.

Every lease I have ever gotten has been mostly in favor of the company that sent it. Almost all clauses in the lease are negotiable and a wise mineral owner will get informed and know what they need to do to get a better deal. Places like the forum and National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) are good avenues for getting educated. Unfortunately, most folks do sign without understanding what they are signing and end up with less favorable terms that can hold their families for generations. Legal documents should always be thoroughly understood before signing.

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Unfortunately, too few individuals have leases reviewed by an attorney. To Quote Abraham Lincoln : “He who represents himself has a fool for a client .”Feb 21, 2011.
Also, there is no such thing as a “standard” lease.

indeed zero leases are standard. my cousin the quasi-personal representative of our grandpa’s intestated mineral rights wasn’t even authorized to sign the lease except through thee heirship affidavit which the oil producer accepted. cousin wasn’t even a owner, his mother was as was 3 other relatives. my fathers’ wife wasn’t even consulted/informed at that time. my cousin along with his deceased fathers’ family lawyer assumed the small acreage wasn’t gunna produce anything basically. as we know a lease does mean little as far as predicting yields. so 2 wells later and then a BUY out by another oil producer created a ball of confusion on my own fathers’ side resulting in eventually 3 years later a Suspension by new oil company. so a year after THAT (now) I, as a legit co-owner still have not received 1$ in royalties from the 11 grand owed me and my siblings. tho that “fat check” is hopefully 6 weeks away. doesn’t mean I haven’t suffer’d.