Two weeks ago I received letter from a Oklahoma company that myself/siblings may be heirs to mineral rights in Grady Co. We completed the affidavit of heirship and he is now sending a w4 and a bonus check. What does this mean.? I thought he was just verifying if we were the correct heirs. I have not agreed to anything can someone explain this ? Apparently my grandfather owned mineral rights. When he died in 1991 he had no will . They lived in California., my grandmother forgot all about them and never put them in her name .Do I file a ancillary probate for my grandfather’s mineral rights in Grady Co. Since there was no will then after it is finalized file a ancillary probate in Grady Co. for my grandmother who died in 1999 and had a will that was probated and finalized in California .my concern is why this company wants to send us money and my name is not on the.title
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A company will probably lease to you based upon an affidavit of heirship. They will also likely pay a bonus. However, when it comes time to pay royalties a division order analyst will likely require that you have the estates of your grandparents probated. Technically, it would probably not be an ancillary probate since there was no Will. However, Oklahoma has a similar Summary Probate procedure. From the client’s prospective there is no major difference between the two. If appropriate, a summary probate takes about 60-90 days to complete once the initial paperwork is signed. Most attorneys are willing to handle this type of matter on a flat fee. Richard Winblad, Attorney
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