My brother and I have filed a claim for mineral rights royalties in Custer County posted on the State of Oklahoma Unclaimed Property Division from an uncle that passed away in 1970 in Tarrant County, Texas. Our uncle had a probated will leaving all of his mineral rights to us. We have been receiving royalties from Oklahoma and Texas producing properties for years. When the claim was filed, the Custer county clerk asked for and was provided the probated will and other documents. Now the county clerk is saying we need to prove that the mineral rights in the claim were indeed left to our uncle of the same name as stated on their documentation. Is this normal or just trying to prevent us from receiving our inheritance?Do we need go to the county office and hire a lawyer as we live in Texas? Thanks for any assistance.
If the unclaimed property you are trying to claim is in Oklahoma, have you filed a claim with OK Treasure, The Oklahoma Unclaimed Property agency? I am confused by your discussion of a county clerk.
Yes, we have filed the claim with the OK treasurer. We were then referred to the Custer County Clerk after submitting the probated will, the death certificate and other required documents. The Custer County clerk wants us to prove that our uncle is the same person as noted as the owner of the mineral rights. We have his social security number. We have contacted the original production company and trying to work it from that angle. County clerk is not being clear about what it needs.
The county clerk’s office is just a repository of land records. They may be giving you some free advice, but you don’t need to satisfy them. They would have no interest in making sure you receive your money or preventing you from receiving your money. In other words, don’t listen to them. If you are uncertain about what you need to do, you need to hire an Oklahoma attorney.
If I understand correctly, you are trying to claim past royalties that were escheated to the Oklahoma Unclaimed Property in your uncles’s name. The will was probated in TX, not Oklahoma. I recently went through the opposite - I live in Oklahoma and inherited mineral rights in TX where past royalties had been escheated to TX unclaimed property. To claim the TX Unclaimed Property funds, I needed to provide copies of the probated wills of the 2 parties involved and death certificates and promptly received payment. However, to get on the pay books of the operator and provide for clear title transfer of ownership at the county level, I had to provide an exemplified copy of the will that was probated in Oklahoma since the minerals were in TX and I had to pay to have the copy filed in the appropriate county in TX where the minerals are being produced. In my experience the production company will not do anything to assist you in obtaining unclaimed property. Also, the county clerk should have nothing to say about an unclaimed property claim. They do have a stake in making sure the proper records are filed in order to show the proper transfer of ownership.
The Custer County Clerk does not handle unclaimed property claims. They record documents within the county provided that they are in the correct form. I believe that it is the Oklahoma Treasurer that is requiring proof that your uncle owned minerals in Custer County in order to obtain the unclaimed funds. You may need a legal description in order to file with the land records.
If the funds exceed $10,000 the Oklahoma Treasurer will require an Oklahoma probate in addition to proof of Custer County mineral ownership. You can search Custer County for records back to 1991 here: Custer County | OKCountyRecords.com | County Clerk Public Land Records for Oklahoma
This may require review of the records at the courthouse to obtain a deed or other proof of your uncle’s ownership. It would help to ask OK Treasurer for the Section, Township and Range for royalties associated with the unclaimed funds.
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