AboutFrederick M. Scott CMM RPL Expertise I can answer questions about oil and gas leasing, give suggestions on negotiating a good oil and gas lease, and suggest ways on how to best deal with the oil and gas companies or their representatives. I can answer questions about buying and selling oil and gas rights. I can help with questions concerning forced-pooling, correlative rights, deeds and conveyances, and "post-production" costs. I am most experienced with Oklahoma properties and laws, but am able to answer questions concerning other oil and gas producing states in many cases.
Experience I am a Certified Professional Mineral Manager (CMM) certified by the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) in Tulsa, OK. I am also a Registered Professional Landman (RPL) with the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). I have managed my family's oil and gas properties in Oklahoma for over 10 years and have dealt with many landmen, title analysts, attorneys and other oil and gas professionals in the course of doing so. I am currently on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma chapter of NARO, and while a NARO member I have written several articles of interest to royalty owners which have appeared in various industry publications. I have negotiated and drafted leases, prepared deeds, affidavits, and other legal instruments relating to my own minerals, as well as performed title, legal research, and curative work for same. I have acquired a good deal of knowledge on the subjects of oil and gas law and landwork in general in the process. I've seen the business from "both sides" and therefore feel confident I can help out royalty and mineral owners who ask questions in this forum.
Publications National Association of Royalty Owners "Action Report" (ROAR); NADOA Magazine, Landman Magazine, and several royalty owner association group's newsletters.
My grandmother has mineral rights through her mother [my great-grandmother] land is located in Campbell County, WY and she had a 5% share that was inherited.
Her brother got an equal share of 5%. When my grandmother dies in 1974, she left everything to my mother as sole heir but the mineral rights were not mentioned formally in the will. It was stated that any and all holdings of all and any type shall be inherited by my mother, her only child.
Anyway, my question is this - there are two compnaies that currently are leasing the land. They each have about a half dozen producing natural gas wells. My family and I have been living outside the US for over a decade. However, after my grandmother passed away the gas companies that were leasing the land sent my parents checks for the leasing of the land only as there was no producing wells at that time and they had no problem with my mother getting the royalty payments off the will my grandmother left. They simply did title check again found my grandmother's name and asked for the will, that was it.
I contacted the two companies that have producing wells and have not paid my mother anything as they said they could not locate her. One company was very pleasant about it and said we have money in a trust under your grandmother's name and we just need the will, and for your mom to sign a release, and any other info you have, so I faxed the old lease documents from previous companies that had sent payments for land lease in the past. They said that's great we are satisfied and can update our records for your mom to get payments from here on out. They sent her a check. The other company is saying we can't release funds without a deed. They want the original executor of the will to write up the deed. I have tried to find him, and although he is not deceased, I think he has unlisted info and I am working on that now. The point is if my grandmother is on title check and they pulled it, why do we have to do all of this where the other compnay we didn't? They are using my mom's mineral rights and making profut and not giving her a dime on a technicality? We never signed an agreement with them either. What can I do? Can they do this and demand a deed? Should I get an attorney?
Any advice would be a big help. My mom is an invalid and lives with me and I am trying to help her with medical bills. We need to get whatever funds we can for her....
thank you for your time and effort. I used to be an expert myself, but no longer had the time to answer all the questions.
Answer Michelle, if the will had a "residual clause" (most do) then that would include the minerals, even if they were not specifically mentioned in the will. You would need to look to this clause to determine who gets the minerals.
If the will was not probated however (accepted as "valid" by a court of law) then you may have some trouble from companies who will insist the minerals are still owned by the estate of your grandmother, especially if she died in a state other than where the minerals are located. They may not be willing to pay your mom until a court in Wyoming declares the out-of-state will "valid" through the probate process.
In cases where a will is from out-of-state and has not been probated in the state where the minerals are located, an ancillary probate can be done which will allow the heirs to actually "own" what was given them by making the will "valid" in that state. Without what they consider to be a "valid" will, companies usually go by the "intestate succession" laws of the state where the minerals are located, which means they will distribute the assets of the deceased according to state law, as if there had been no will, which may not reflect the wishes of the decedent.
The company that won't release the funds without a deed is probably asking that you have the executor of your grandmother's estate draft an "executor's deed" of some kind. Some wills give the executor such authority without having to obtain permission from a court. If the will is from the same state as the minerals, then this may be possible, assuming permission was granted in the will. If you can't find him/her however, then the minerals are technically still owned by your grandmother's estate unless the will went through the probate process in the state where the minerals are located, and in their opinion, that is who will be paid until a Wyoming court declares the will "valid."
If you file a "notice of address" in the county courthouse where the minerals are located, then companies will be able to locate your mother in the future. This is a simple document you can prepare yourself and have filed for a few bucks, or you can hire an attorney to do it.
There are really a lot of potential variables here that I can't answer without seeing the will etc. and so yes, I would suggest you contact a probate attorney in this matter.
Some companies are pickier than others when it comes to payments of royalties from the estates of a deceased person, and a will that has not been through the probate process is not always enough, especially if it's from another state. Companies prefer to have some sort of court authority stating that a will is valid (i.e. a probate and final decree) before they will pay just based on what someone's will says.
The fact that the second company is apparently holding the funds due your mother (from your grandmother's estate) in "suspense" does mean she'll eventually be paid however. At least they are aware your mother is claiming the money. Most states also have laws stating that interest must also be paid on funds held in suspense, so she may get some interest as well, at least until the company turns the funds over to the state to hold, which they will eventually do. The state will not continue to pay interest, but will still keep the funds until you collect them.
You should contact an attorney. I don't think it will be a big deal, but I really can't give you legal advice as to what to do as I don't have enough info, and more importantly, I am not an attorney myself.
Thanks for the question, and hope I've been able to help some anyway!
