My sister and I are in the final stages of negotiations. She has already mailed her contract back to the company. Yesterday, I posed some email questions to our "landman" and while he addressed the other questions in two different emails, he consistently ignored this question (that I sent, and resent three times) which causes me some concern. I'm hoping someone who has more experience with this can help! My question: Once I sign/notarize the documents (which includes a couple of places for the land company to sign) and mail them back, will we receive signed copies for our records? It seems the company should either sign then send it to me so that I can sign, notarize and make copies or that I have something in writing from them, that they will send me the copies after the company has signed. We have dealt with numerous errors on paperwork from the beginning and finally have everything correct, but I am hesitant to sign anything without this reassurance. Thank You in advance for any assistance you can give me!
Yes, you should insist on getting a countersigned copy back. If they will not agree, write it in the contract or insist they sign first. Are you getting a check in exchange for your signature? If not, you have to watch for lease flippers who don't countersign and go and shop your lease, so they can get the money to pay you.
I don't think it's that important. You can make a copy of the lease they sent you. If they make any changes, you can sue them.
Leases are filed in counties across the U.S. on a daily basis with only the signatures of the lessor. It's not at all unusual. In fact, it is more the norm. I'm not really sure why anyone would tell you to insist on that, unless it stems from their legal background.
Who are you wanting to sign the lease on behalf of the oil company? The CEO or V.P. of land? They probably have more important ways to spend their time. I guess they could give their secretary a signature stamp.
For the agreement to be binding, consideration must be paid for the lease.
Thank you both for your prompt responses. There are two places in our contract for a specific person from the company to sign. It seems to me that if that person is being required to sign it, then I should be able to have a copy of the signed documents with both his signature and mine. Right now, it’s as though they expect me to sign it and send it back with no back up to show that the other party signed. How do I know that it’s then a legal and binding document if I don’t have the proof that the company rep signed it? And it seems odd, out of the questions I sent, this is the one that has not been answered by our landman.
I can see your point. If they pay you for the lease, most likely at some point the lease will be recorded in the county where the land is situated. Prior to recordation, if there is a place or signature line for the lessee, at that point they will sign it. The landman may not be answering you as a matter of logistics. It would likely be less hassle if he could simply get the executed lease back from you, have his principal sign it as well, and then record it at some point. If you feel so strongly about it, tell the landman that you will sign the original and return it to him after he mails you the executed lease signed by lessee. I don't know what arrangements or promises were made with regard to consideration. You don't say. The signature issue seems to be something that really concerns you. Rather than lose anymore sleep over it, do as I suggested. The landman may consider you a pain, but it's not really that unreasonable a request.
Never put yourself in a position where you have to sue a landman or an oil company to get provisions of your lease enforced, particularly if your minerals are in North Dakota. The courts are corrupt and the state is in cahoots with the oil companies to steal as much of your mineral rights as possible. They have unlimited money to crush you with and you will lose because you cannot afford to fight them. No attorney who values his career prospects is going to go up against the state or the oil companies to defend you. Better to go slow and write the terms of your lease in excruciating detail before anybody signs anything, so that nothing falls into a gray area where it can be left open to "interpretation" by the courts.