Recently I was contacted by someone (I’ll call the company XYZ Oil) about processing a top lease in Martin county with the promise of a partial lease bonus for signing. After hiring an attorney to review the paper work the lease was signed. However, later I was contacted that the old lease is “not marketable,” the old lease was signed in 1963 by my grandparents who are deceased as is my mother who bequeathed the mineral rights to me and my siblings. I am unable to find a document that passed the administrative rights to the descendants- in other words, I have no rights to legally sign a lease agreement. I was told by XYZ that I needed to find an uninterested party who knew my grandmother and would sign an affidavit swearing to a bunch of stuff regarding my grandmother, her heirs, the property she owned, what her wishes were etc, etc, etc. My family is unable locate any one who can swear to these things.
Question - is XYZ Oil still obligated to pay me the partial lease bonus. If so, how do I make them pay? And wasn’t it their responsibility to know these things before approaching me about this top lease?
Thank you in advance for your help.
Often, leasing projects move quickly (especially when trying to avoid competition) and landmen have to work with partial information to try to get leases. Full title (to know the intricacies of your family estate) is usually not done before trying to find lessors. Title work takes time and is expensive and not worth it if the company can never find the actual heirs, so it is often not fully run until they get closer to getting someone to agree to lease.
It is up to the company as to whether they lease and pay you without the title being clear. They are taking a risk by paying someone who might not be the rightful owner once title is properly filed. It depends on how much you own, where your property is in their drilling plans, investor temperament, and how complicated the title is.
It sounds like they are asking you to get an Affidavit of Heirship executed. Do you have an aunt/uncle/cousin who is familiar with the family? Neighbor? The ‘wishes’ is not a necessary part of the affidavit. The main thing is the heirs.
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Here is an article on top leasing that you might find helpful.
An Overview of Recurring and Related Issues Involving Top Leasing.pdf (210.2 KB)
@Suzanne_Thomas Can you share what state and county where the property is located to help us help you?
Have you signed a document and sent it off to the company?