If a relative died in the 1930s and their minerals then became producing where would the money go?
John Morgan -
All land and mineral and royalty interests that were owned by someone in the 1930ās will be owned by someone today.
If your deceased relative owned any mineral or royalty interests that later became productive and the Oil and Gas Company could not find the Heirs of your deceased relative to pay them, then any royalties resulting from the sales of production of oil and/or gas would have been held āIn Suspenseā by the Oil and Gas Company for a number of years and then turned over to the State.
I am not familiar with all of the Statesā different laws regarding āUnclaimed Propertiesā, but in Texas the State would have held the unclaimed royalties for 7 years and then, if no one had come forward to claim them, the royalties would have escheated to the State. The royalties would have been absorbed into the Stateās General Fund.
Occurrences such as that do not, to my knowledge, affect the ownership of mineral or royalty interests, only the unclaimed money from royalties.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Charles.
I am somewhat familiar with Escheat laws and have understood that after 7 years even though the State assumes possession, if you identify a relationship then the money is returned.
Oklahoma holds on to the money in a Mineral Owners Escrow, labeled under that heading.
My grandfather once lived in the Gatesville area and in his will stated he had minerals of prospective value in Texas as well as Oklahoma.
I know he never sold because of the will.
In the will he didnāt specify where the minerals were located.
Thanks for taking time to reply constructively and meaningfully.
John
Charles - it looks like IDOC would be the website to search in Texas. If so, how thorough are they? And how far back do the records go?
If thatās not the site to use, which one would be the best?
Thanks, John
Texas law stipulates in the event property is being conveyed to another owner which has mineral rights ownership and you fail to mention the mineral ownership it will be conveyed along with the signing of the deed to whom the purchaser is becoming owner if the royalties were owned by the owner of the surface property has also interest in the minerals below the property.
Therefore if you own surface and mineral interest in property being conveyed, and you fail to mention the mineral interest then the mineral interest will be conveyed along with the surface. One should mention mineral retaining in the conveyance of surface property.
I am engaging an Oil & Gas attorney to stop Lease Operator who signed waiver to cross lease lines into another survey in violation of original Lease Contract. Operator allowing horizontal well bore through agreement to drill allocated well then reduce my royalty interest to less than 50% of what is called for in valid Original Lease Contract.
Allocated Horizontal bore well does not mean they automatically reduce your Lease Contract mineral interests. Even if you sign a Division Order, you can rescind within 30 days and you will not be bound by the Division Order.
James, itās good to know and learn about Texas Law.
Thanks for sharing !!
John
Your welcome John,
Horizontal drilling is fairly new and unknown to many folks and itās going to become very popular with most Lease Operators. Folks should be warned, they cannot change your Lease Contract mineral interests though.
INTEREST OWNERS:
The Legislature of the State of Texas has passed and put into law House Bill 981, which requires Operators of Oil and or Gas Units to provide to you the following information.
Section 91.504, Texas Natural Resources Code, gives an owner of a royalty in oil or gas produced in Texas the right to request from a payor information about itemized deductions, the heating value of the gas, and the Railroad Commission of Texas identification number for the lease, property, or well that may not have been provided to the royalty interest owner. The request must be made in writing and must be made by certified mail. A payor must respond to a request regarding itemized deductions, the heating value of the gas, or the Railroad Commission of Texas identification number by certified mail not later than the 60th day after the request is received. Additional information regarding production and related information may be obtained by contacting the Railroad Commission of Texasā Office of Public Assistance or by accessing the Commissionās website.
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Thank you so much for this informationā¦I really appreciate all the information everyone givesā¦It helps me a lotā¦!!!
James,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on oil and gas matters. Much appreciated.
Clint Liles
I inherited my mineral rights and I would like to have a copy of the original lease but the company hasnāt produced it. How can I get it? Thanks for any info.
Another question I have is why does SWN deduct so many fees and is there a way to stop them or get them returned? I had heard somewhere that they would have to reimburse it.
Lora, many old leases were filed of record in the courthouse. Now they file memorandum of lease in lieu of the actual lease. Have you tried to obtain it by pulling it from courthousedirect.com or texasfile.com?
No, I didnāt know that but it was created many years ago.
Lora -
Depending upon the wording of your lease(s), the companies have the right to certain deductions to make your share of the oil and gas marketable. Some take advantage of the opportunity to add additional charges, which can be frustrating, but some deductions are ānormalā, such as deductions for certain taxes.
As for your lease(s), I am surprised the company would not send you a copy. Did you prove to them that you own the minerals now?
See if whoever you inherited it from left any files or papers. Your lease(s) may be in those. Otherwise, you will have to research the County Clerkās Records to find them.
If you will send me or post your legal description(s), I can probably tell you about when the subject leases were filed of record. Or, at least when production began.
If we can narrow that down, one of the local Title Companies can probably send you a copy of your lease(s).
Hope this helps -
Charles Emery Tooke III Certified Professional Landman Fort Worth, Texas