I talked to a friend of mine today who is an Independent Executor of his mother's will, which has been probated. He is under the impression that he and his siblings now have title to the land (and all minerals) that she left them in equal shares in her will.
Doesn't my friend have to execute a Special Warranty Deed as Independent Executor to his sisters and himself in undivided interests to transfer the title to the land their mother owned and willed to them? (Then they will be able to lease their minerals whenever the current lease expires.)