In 1909 my great grandparents along with 2 other couples secured mineral rights to 2 parcels in Belmont County, Ohio. My siblings and I received certified letters stating a company was interested in leasing. This all came as a surprise as we knew nothing about these mineral rights. I have been doing research online and see a few leases where the land (surface) owner was paid, not the mineral rights owners. How does this work? Who has the responsibility of making sure who owns what? Is there anything one can do to contact the prior companies and demand payment? Again new to this. Is there a paper we should file with the court recorder on heirship or deed so this is more clearly spelled out? Not living in Ohio, and knowing nothing about mineral rights, how would you suggest moving forward?
You mentioned that a company was trying to lease your mineral rights. So probably they have not been in production if they are wanting to lease. Find out where the minerals are located. How many gross and net. mineral acres you may own and where they are located first of all. You first need to know what you own and how much. Proceed cautiously.
How does this work? -first of all, contact the agent from the letter and ask them what you need to do in order to prove title. Do they need an affadavit of heirship or do they need a full probate? Take what they say with a grain of salt as they are not attorneys, but it does give a hint for what you need to do. If they say that probates have already been filed, then ask for the state, county, book and page. You are going to need that information in order to get royalties down the line. In some cases, people file the affidavit of heirship to start the process and then get the probate finished or file under the intestate laws of the state in which the heirs died. You are probably going to need an attorney in that state. Maybe an additional one if the state is not Ohio. I do not know the OH law.
Who has the responsibility of making sure who owns what?- You are ultimately. The leasing company is supposed to do a title search, some do a better job than others. Just because they agree to lease you does not mean you actually have title. Some groups lease without regard to the actual ownership.
Is there anything one can do to contact the prior companies and demand payment?- Did you inherit surface and minerals or just minerals? Most likely, they are severed through the generations, but not necessarily. You can only lease what you own. If they are looking for you now, it probably means all other leases have expired, so you cannot get back payment for those. You should also check the unclaimed funds in the state where your ancestors lived. Might be something there.
Is there a paper we should file with the court recorder on heirship or deed so this is more clearly spelled out? The attorney will let you know on this.
If you have not leased before, the Mineral Help tab above is a good place to start. The draft lease that is offered is not going to be in your favor, so it is wise to get an attorney to review it and make changes Best if that is an oil and gas attorney which might be different than the probate attorney. If the acreage is tiny, the attorney fees may be an issue.
You have some legwork to do before signing anything.
If you list the location, we can help with any activity in the area. Section, township and range
Thank you for your response. It is Section 28, township 6, Range 5 in Belmont county.
Which township name?
Wayne township in Belmont County Ohio
It looks like there are some older wells in the northern part of section 28, but they are no longer active. They are so old, not worth worrying about them. There are new horizontal permits in sections 20 and 27, so that is why your are getting interest in 28. Since multiple horizontal wells are being permitted nearby, it is probably worth your time to get an attorney involved. The draft lease from the operator often needs significant edits.