How can I locate a deed for mineral rights property I inherited and recently leased?
Leigh,
Where are the minerals located?
In Oklahoma, some County Clerks will look up the deed for you if you live out of state. If you live in the state, you can always go to the County Clerk's office and ask them to walk you though the process of checking their indices to find the deed. Another option is to plug your information into https://okcountyrecords.com/ and see what you can find.
I might add that the website will allow you to find the book and page number of the deed you are looking for, of course depending on the county and date of the deed you are seeking. With the book and page number, you can call the County Clerk's office to request a copy.
Hi, Leigh -
If you inherited the mineral interests there might not be a Deed. You may only need to research the County Probate Court Records in the County whoever you inherited the mineral interests lived at the time of their death. Perhaps the Official Public Records as well for any Affidavit(s) of Heirship on the Deceased.
If the mineral interests are in a different County than the County whoever you inherited from died in, then there should be a certified copy of the Probate Matter filed in the Official Public Records of the County the minerals are in.
Or, you could try asking the Landman that negotiated your Lease with you for a copy of whatever he has proving your ownership, whether it be a Probate Matter, Deed or Affidavit of Heirship. We refer to them as Source Documents (where your interests came down to you) and are usually happy to help with that sort of thing.
In the future, when you lease your interests add a Provision to the Lease where the Lessee (Company) has to provide you with copies of any Title Runsheets that they have prepared or obtain that cover your interests.
A Title Runsheet is a complete (sometimes limited) history on a given tract of land or interest. They can be quite expensive to have prepared - this way you get one for free.
Asking for maps of the properties won't do you any harm, either.
Hope this helps -
Charles Emery Tooke III
Certified Professional Landman
Fort Worth, Texas
There will definitely be a deed of some kind where the mineral rights were reserved or acquired. The deed would precede the inheritance. The mineral rights will not originate out of thin air.
The deed would be located in the same county in the legal description of the lease. Most of the time, county clerks or their deputies will not do research for you over the phone, but the acquisition or source deed regarding the mineral interest will be of record in that particular county where the land is located.
You might look on the lease itself for a volume and page in the legal description. It would be on the front page of the lease. That could be the source deed, or it may not be.
The best course of action might be to contact the landman, and ask him where in title the minerals were acquired by your family.
Subsequent to that deed, you would have more than likely inherited it either by will, or pursuant to the laws of descent and distribution.
If you did have a volume and page, you would call the office of county clerk where the land is located, and ask them to quote a price for the copies to you. Typically, it is $1.00 per page unless you need it certified, and you probably don't. You would mail them a check, and then they would mail the copy to you.
If you don't know the volume and page of the deed, it could get more problematical. Most of the time, the office of county clerk will not research it for you. Sometimes, they might agree to search a probate for you, and then charge a search fee.
Dear Ms. Anderssen,
If it were me, I would ask the landman who you dealt with on leasing your property for a copy. You can also ask him for a copy of his runsheet. Some, the good guys, will give it to you willingly.
Best,
Buddy Cotten
Leigh,
I wouldn't use a runsheet as any criteria in determining whether anyone is good or evil. That may not be up to the landman. The landman has what is called a fiduciary relationship with his client. The runsheet is the work product of the client. It was obtained at the client's expense. They have no obligation to release work product, and many don't. That doesn't make them good or bad. It's just business. They may want to keep that confidential since it is their work product. The landman may or may not have a copy of the deed readily available.
It's also possible that a runsheet may be nonexistent. They can't give you what does not exist. The lease may have been acquired based on scratchy, incoherent notes on a legal pad. That doesn't make him a good guy, or a bad guy. It works out like that sometimes.
I am still amazed at the amount of leasing that occurs with little or no title research. "Buyer beware".
Thanks for your reply, but if you are replying to me, that's not what I said. I was replying to the comments that there will always be a formal runsheet that can be furnished to someone. I never said that the issue was a matter of little or no title research. Perfect title work can be performed. It may not always be transcribed into a formal runsheet.
M. Chase Ritter said:
Leigh,
Where are the minerals located?
In Oklahoma, some County Clerks will look up the deed for you if you live out of state. If you live in the state, you can always go to the County Clerk's office and ask them to walk you though the process of checking their indices to find the deed. Another option is to plug your information into https://okcountyrecords.com/ and see what you can find.
Geeze
Instant Classic, Buddy!
Leigh, I hope we haven't totally confused you.
It seemed clear enough to me.
I understand why you think she was confused. It went to the interpretation of her question. It sounds like she said she wanted the deed proving up the rights that she inherited, not necessarily a deed into her personally. You based your reply on the later. Why are you encouraging the condescending attitude of Cotten? He has already been warned once, and to his credit issued a public apology.
I agree, Buddy C-O-T-T-E-N…
All I saw was a suggestion that it’s a good idea to get a copy of a runsheet from a landman, etc, if at all possible, and to place that language in your leases. I can’t find where anyone said anything about a “formal” runsheet except Dave. What’s the difference between a “formal” runsheet and any other kind of runsheet? What about the runsheets you get off of texasfile.com, what kind of runsheet is that? Just trying to educate myself here. What sets a “formal” runsheet apart from the other, lesser runsheets, if there is such a creature? Linton T-O-M-L-I-N.
Good Question, Linton!
I would imagine the "lesser runsheets" you described would be what I refer to as Leasing Notes.
When you are leasing, you are usually up against competition so you research just the mineral title until you obtain your lease. Leasing Notes are not always typed up, they might just be scrawled on a yellow tablet.
They might be helpful to a mineral owner, but the "formal" Title Runsheet is what you really want.
They are typed, and contain all the Bells and Whistles in a property's history from Sovereignty (Patent or Land Grant) through a Certification Date.
Titie Runsheets are prepared for Attorneys to use in drawing up their Title Opinions for the drilling of a well and eventually a Division Order Title Opinion setting out who owns what and who owes what for a given well.
As to records or "Runsheets" you compile online, all of those instruments that effect a given tract of land would be included in a "formal" Title Runsheet, but many additional documents would be included as well that you more than likely will not be able to obtain online.
For one reason, very few Counties or Abstract Plants (Title Companies) have been able to afford to digitize all of their records. Most online records will only go back to about the mid 1970's or 1980's. Records prior to that you have to research by hand, both in the Abstract Plants (Title Companies) and the County Courthouses.
For another reason, District Court, County Court, Probate Court, Family Court Records and Vital Statistics Records are not typically available online. You may be able to download a Docket Sheet for some of the Courts, but you're going to need Boots on the Ground to look at any of the Records available for public viewing for these Courts and Offices.
Be careful about what you wish for when asking questions like this. Title Research is like Genealogy - it can be very addictive.
And... the first one's free...
Hope this helps -
Charles Emery Tooke III
Certified Professional Landman
Fort Worth, Texas
Charles, thanks immensely for your response. Having been an official court reporter for 40 years and a daughter of an attorney who spent his most enjoyable time in probate/land matters for many years in west Texas, I can’t help but think how technology has changed and how much he would have enjoyed research online. That being said, he knew an awful lot without that technology! But I sincerely appreciate your explanation and filling in the gap between what was then and what we are fortunate to have now. My Dad so loved that land genealogy, lived amd breathed it, and at the time bored me to tears. Of course, now I’m a little more interested/addicted! Thanks. Linton