In 1992 dad and mom made a life estate in Divide County, dad passed away in 1997 leaving mom the estate. In 2005 she signed a lease agreement. For some reason she made a quit claim to my brother, which he recorded in 2007. My brother got the surface rights last April, and mom was supposed to get the mineral rights, as she did receive a check from Samson Oil, but my sister did not give it to her. Between my brother-in-law and my other sister, they want to get it away from my mother for some reason. From what I can tell so far is that Samson Oil sent out a letter to mom stating that they had contacted the North Dakota Title and Guarantor Co. and they stated that mom was the mineral owner and my brother was surface right owner through a division title order. What authority does a division title order have, how would a court of law look at it? What are my options to get the mineral rights to my mother as I do believe they belong to her? I must also state that my mom is going on 92 years old and I think my 2 younger sisters are trying to pressure her to do something that she does not want to do. Any suggestion would be helpful. Thanks Dave.
The title co. wouldn’t have said your mother owned the mineral rights if they had a good reason to think she didn’t. I think you need to request that Samson Oil pay her based on the title co’s opinion. I think they should. I think your brother would have to come up with a reason why they shouldn’t. I think Samson may not act until you ask. It might take a request under a lawyers letterhead. Best wishes.