Am I entitled to a copy of a lease I did not sign

General Mineral Rights Discussion
1

I inherited a mineral deed from my grandfather and it states that I have no interests in bonus money, only production. It is currently under lease and producing, am I entitled to have a copy of this lease? The company currently leasing it is in the process of doing the division orders. If I don’t have a copy of the lease how will I know if the division order is correct? Thank you for anyone able to answer this.

2

Depending upon which state you are in, you may be able to get a copy. Ask the operator for a copy. If you are in Oklahoma, you may be able to look it up online at www.okcountryrecords.com for many counties. Digital files only go back to the early 90’s, so if it is older than that, you may have to request a copy from the county clerk.

Once you get the Division Order, you may request a copy of the paragraph that pertains to your title. The Division Order analyst will be able to tell you the royalty and how your decimal interest was calculated.

3

Thank you for your advice. My minerals are in Ward Co. Texas. I thought that companies only had to record the memorandum to the lease, not the actual lease.

4

Texas is one of the states where a memorandum of lease is common. It may have the royalty on it.
Here are two websites that might be helpful for Texas.
Courthousedirect.com

https://www.idocmarket.com/sites

The Division Order analyst can certainly tell you the royalty and net acres and the formula used to calculate your decimal interest.

5

Texasfile.com is also a good site to go to for courthouse records. Good luck

Cam

6

First, Ward County deed records are online. You can search using the name of the lessor and view for free. You can purchase for $1 per page + $2 fee. Welcome to Vanguard Ward County, TX Search

 Second, whether you need to see the lease depends on the exact terms of your deed. The deed should state the gross acres and location.  You can download at the plat of the well, and other well information, on the RRC website.  Does the deed provide that your royalty rate is a fraction of the royalty rate - such as 1/64 of the royalty?  You would need to know the royalty rate in the lease.  Or does it provide a set interest such as 1/32 of production?  There are a lot of issues tied to the exact wording.  You can post the whole deed (not just a sentence or two because the terms earlier or later in the deed could affect the sentence) and see if someone can help you interpret the deed.  Also, your interest will depend on exactly what your grandfather owned and how many heirs it was divided to over the years, both before he got his interest and after it passed to his heirs.  He could have owned a fraction based on 100% of the minerals in the acres and it went to 5 grandchildren who each get 1/5 of the fraction.  If your grandfather only had 1/3 of the interest, say because his two brothers each had 1/3, then his 5 heirs would each get 1/15.  You can also ask the division order analyst or company about the title history to get down to your share.
7

Thank you for the good information.

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