Hi, I’m interested in finding out if my mineral rights in Garvin county, Sec 32-2N-2W have any value. Can anyone advise me as to how I can determine the value? Thanks so much for any help you can offer.
Welcome to the forum.
Value is determined by the remaining reserves on your mineral rights based upon the currently producing wells and any potential for future wells.
An engineering evaluation can be done to determine the decline curves for the current wells and then calculate the value using a certain price deck. It is just an estimate since prices change all the time.
If you are interested in selling, then the market value is “what an informed seller under no compulsion to buy and and informed buyer under no compulsion to buy agree upon for a price”. That price can be quite different from the engineering evaluation.
Your minerals do have some value in that section. Depending upon your mineral description, you may have some older shallow wells that are near the end of life on production. You have a newer horizontal well which has quite a few years of life left on it and also the possibility of infill wells which makes the future have value. If you are not getting paid on the Herrin well, then you need to contact Rimrock Resource to find out why not.
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wow Martha, that is a ton of information, thank you so much for sharing your considerable expertise! No one in my familay is receiving royalties from anything in Garvin County, so I will certainly contact Rimrock Resource and ask them about this. Again, thanks so much. So glad I stumbled upon this website, really a wealth of information here.
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This is really strange. I called Rimrock Resouce and talked to Cindy, their division analyst, and asked if there was a well in this section. She said no, there wasn’t. I then asked about a well named Herrin, and she said oh yes there is a well in that section. I asked why we were never contacted about a lease, and after some research she said it was because we came up as strangers in title. We’ve had leases on these minerals since the 1980’s, and as recently as 2015, so I don’t know why we were never contacted or why their landman didn’t do the necessary research, or how they got a lease. I sent Cindy the affidavits of heirship that had been recorded in other counties, but never heard back from her. I also filed the neccessary paperwork with Garvin county and have been trying to reach Rimrock, with no success. This all seems so strange to me. I’ve never had this problem before with other companies. Should I be concerned, and can anyone tell me what my options would be ? Thanks so much.
You might ask if they show your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, etc in title. Its possible they show title in A, but they don’t realize you are an heir of A. You might have to hire a landman to run title as to your interest only to show that you do own the interest.
Hi Tim, thanks so much for the response. My grandfather gave the mineral rights to my grandmother in 1921. I gave Rimrock the book and page where that is recorded, and I’ve filed the affidavit of heirship, but I’ve not heard anything from them since. Not sure what to do now, as I’m having difficulty getting hold of anyone at Rimrock to find out what else they might need from me 
In Oklahoma it is not unusual for a company to request an Affidavit of Heirship then turn around and say that they require a probate before putting minerals into pay status.
Affidavit of Heirship: : This is a document that reports the decedent’s death, the names of decedents and surviving spouse. This is filed with the land records. Essentially this provides notice of the death and identifies those who are believed to be entitled to inherit. If there is a Last Willand Testament, it can be attached. Often heirs are asked to provide this when a lease is signed. However, there are a few problems with this approach. An affidavit of heirship does not provide “marketable title” to the heirs unless it has been on file for 10 years and nothing appears in the land records to contradict the affidavit. If there is a Will, many title attorneys question whether an affidavit of heirship is effective because only a court can determine the validity of a Will. Finally, many companies will not pay royalties on an AOH until the ten years have run. An AOH approach may make the most sense when the royalty payments are too small to justify the cost of a probate. Something that bewilders many is that the same company that took a lease and paid a bonus based upon an AOH will turn around and require a probate before paying royalties.
“”“This post is not legal, tax or investment advice. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney/client relationship.”“”
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Hi Richard, thanks so much for the great info, it’s much appreciated. When I filed the affidavit of heirship for these minerals I included the probate paperwork for any will that was probated. There were a couple of heirships in the line of decedency that didn’t include probate paperwork because no will was ever filled; it’s my understanding that in these cases the heirship follows Oklahoma laws of decedency. This has been acceptable in other counties in Oklahoma, and we received royalties from the producers. Is my understanding correct, do you know ? Again, thanks so much for your expertise!
Hey, new owner here. I am currently transferring interests in Stephen’s County OK (adjacent to yours) and can testify what Richard said is very much true. Operators will say that an Affidavit of Heirship will suffice but then require what is called an Ancillary Probate. Why they do this I will never know. An Ancillary Probate is basically another probate that is performed in the county of your minerals if the decedent lived outside of that county. The operator makes you do this to cover all legal bases on their part. You will need a lawyer for this and in that area it’s probably going to set you back anywhere from $4,000 and up. Also if you don’t live in the area and the decedent did not keep the best records (my personal experience) I highly recommend hiring a local landman. I’m sorry if this is a lot of info, but it has taken me almost a year to learn this much about the transferral process and I just want to help anyone that needs it so they don’t have to deal with the ridiculousness that I have been through. Please let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions!
Ancillary probate is usually required when probate was not in the state where the minerals are located. You should not have to do in every county. Probate order should cover all the minerals assets in the state. That is how other states work and it would seem odd for OK to require endless probated.
Cameron, thanks so much for the info, good to know so that I can be prepared if needed. We have minerals in 4 other counties, and none of them has required an ancillary probate but I will talk with my family and get an attorney lined up. I’m retired now so this will give me something to do haha
thank you so much, good to know !
That’s almost correct.
If minerals are located in multiple Oklahoma counties, a court case is only required in one. Once an order is issued, a record of the order is filed with the land records in each other county where minerals are located. So, there is not a need for a probate case in every county.
Also, most attorneys handling mineral probates work statewide. Therefore, you don’t necessarily need an attorney in a particular county.
This post is not legal, tax or investment advice. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney/client relationship.