My two siblings and I were informed by a company trying to locate my dad’s heirs, that dad had invested in mineral rights in land located in Reeves County TX. Can someone recommend a trusted attorney to help get the rights transferred from dad’s name to the three siblings?
If your father died with a will outside of Reeves County, file a certified copy of the will in Reeves County. If he died intestate, or without a will, file an Affidavit of Heirship in the Office of County Clerk in Reeves County.
The term trusted attorney may be an oxymoron.
Another thing that you might do is ask the landman who contacted you to provide you with the documentation of, or how your father acquired the mineral interest.
I read the link, and it appears to be an unintended effort to complicate things.
You and your siblings are direct, lineal descendants of your father. The minerals will pass according to the terms of his will, or pursuant to the Texas Statute of Descent and Distribution if your father died intestate. No one can tell you for certain that you and your siblings will own an undivided one-third each because you make no mention of your father's marital history, or whether the interest was community or separate property.
However, I would study the initial reply, while ignoring any subsequent red herrings.
Thank you Dave. Who is the landsman or how do I found that out?
Dave Quincy said:
Another thing that you might do is ask the landman who contacted you to provide you with the documentation of, or how your father acquired the mineral interest.
I read the link, and it appears to be an unintended effort to complicate things.
You and your siblings are direct, lineal descendants of your father. The minerals will pass according to the terms of his will, or pursuant to the Texas Statute of Descent and Distribution if your father died intestate. No one can tell you for certain that you and your siblings will own an undivided one-third each because you make no mention of your father's marital history, or whether the interest was community or separate property.
However, I would study the initial reply, while ignoring any subsequent red herrings.
I don't know. Who contacted you? Was it an heir hunter? What exactly did they say, or want from you? Want you to do?
I may have wrongly called them a landman.
To know for sure, you or someone who knows what they are doing would need to "run" your Pop's name in the Reeves County Records in an attempt to verify his interest, or you can call back, if you still have their number, the person who contacted you and ask them. If you do that, let me know what they tell you. Upon re-reading your question, and your reply to me, I guess it wasn't a landman. However, the advice I gave you would still be applicable if your Dad died owning minerals anywhere outside his county of residence.
So I contact the county clerk in Reeves County Texas. I ask about a process to convert Dad’s mineral rights to his kids names. The answer I got was: “We don’t do paperwork. We only record papers you file here. You need a lawyer.”
It seems to me there must be a way to do this without a lawyer.
I'm in shock. I thought that Deputy Clerks did it all.
If your father had a will, file a Certified Copy of his will in Reeves County. You can do it by mail. They will quote you the filing fees over the phone. For example, if he died in Tarrant County, and had a will, ask or pay the Tarrant County Clerk for a "Certified Copy" of all of his probate proceedings, and file it in Reeves County.
If he died without a will, put together a detailed Affidavit of Heirship (forms online), give his place and date of death, marital history, names of children, where they all live with mailing addresses - the more info. the better. It will need to be signed by person supplying the information before a Notary Public.
File the Affidavit of Heirship in Reeves County.
As Dave previously mentioned, many forms are available online for free. If you need additional help preparing instruments to file at at clerks office, title companies may offer their service for a fee (maybe cheaper than a lawyer). Prepare meaning to write up and describe legally, using the proper form(s) (affidavit, deed, etc). We charged a minimal fee at title company I used to work for - for document preparation services only, since you are not buying a title insurance policy (policies are what get expensive).