My late Father had some type of mineral or oil lease in West Virginia and I recently received a letter from the State showing where I needed to pay taxes on the “real estate.” I didn’t get a tax statement for the FY 2023 from the State so it appears that a company named BBRM LLC, purchased it and will deed it unless I pay this by July 31st. My problem is that I can’t find out what exactly this real estate is. I also don’t have a deed or anything that shows any information about it. The County that it’s located in only told me it’s not land but underground noted by a certain numbering order. This BBRM LLC doesn’t have a phone number, the lawyer in the State records for them doesn’t work at the Law firm any longer and the Law firm doesn’t have record of BBRM LLC being their client or won’t share. Does anyone have information about this firm by chance? Or does anyone have an idea on how I can find the deed to this “Real Estate” and confirm what it is and how I could potentially get it into my name? I hate to pay taxes on something that I don’t even know how to place a finger on but this BBRM seems to think it’s worth something. Thanks in advance for any help.
Welcome to the forum. Mineral rights are real estate, just under the surface from the “grass roots to the center of the earth”. When WV was made a state, the tracts of land had the surface rights and the mineral rights combined. Over time, the mineral rights and surface were commonly severed as farmers wanted to keep their crop lands. They might have sold their mineral rights or lost them in a sheriff’s sale. As drilling for oil and gas became more prevalent, the mineral rights became more valuable. If you do not pay the taxes on what you own, you will lose them. The county courthouse should have the older deed in their files. It should be under your dad’s name. Do you have your father’s probate documents? Are the mineral rights listed in it? Many states have an online digital site to use for hunting for records. Not sure about WV. You may have to get a landman to help.
@stace welcome to the forum! Your father William had minerals in Ohio County within the Triadelphia district. This tax ticket went to an address in Tallahassee FL but after being unpaid for a number of years was sent to tax sale last year. The winning bid was BBRM and they are now in the process of transferring those minerals (aka real estate) into their name.
WV law requires that they find potential heirs and notify them of the situation so that it can be redeemed properly. If you choose to redeem them then the tax ticket will revert back to your father’s name and you can begin the process of getting your name on it. The state will transfer this ticket if you redeem the property, and provide Ohio County WV with your father’s estate documents. The important information will be his last will and testament, or anything else that legally shows you are the rightful heir to his estate. You will likely have to submit those documents and an heirship affidavit.
The tax ticket was 0000014713 in 2022 before being sold. Hope this helps! The best way forward is to call the state auditor and the Ohio county clerk ASAP!