Person died (Deceased 1). Person (Deceased 2) inherited a royalty stream fm Effie McCully 1 & 2 drilling in Section 36-19N-06W in Kingfisher County OK. To receive royalty stream - Last Will & Testament and death certificate of Deceased 1 were recorded with County Clerk in Kingfisher County OK. Effie McCully 1 & 2 have been plugged and abandoned for several years. Deceased 2 has not received royalties for a few years prior to death. How do I determine if there is something owned by Deceased 2 on her death? If I record a copy of the Last Will and Testament and the death certificate of the newly deceased, do I need to do anything else?
You probably need to contact the operator first and talk to the Division Order Analyst (if they are even around anymore) to see what they have in their records. Did Dec. 2 ever receive royalties? You may have to start with Dec. 1 name. The last name I see for production was Eland Energy Inc. 5430 LBJ Freeway, Ste. 900, Dallas TX 75240. The well ceased production in about Oct. 2011. Very low amounts from 2008-2011, so might not be worth your time. Same for #1.
The next place to check is the OK Treasurer’s office and then the state of the deceased if they lived out of OK. Check TX as well since Eland’s address was in Texas. If there are funds then you will have to find out what the requirements are to obtain them in the heir’s name. Probably should file the probate and the death certificate in Kingfisher as well.
Thank you for your response. I know all royalties from Eland were received. Eland Energy confirmed no royalties were outstanding. I have paperwork showing royalties received for oil and gas back to 1987 from various companies. They all refer to Kingfisher County Section 36 -19N - R6W . The annual royalties for the past 10 years have been below $50. I want to make sure the “mineral interest” is transferred but the cost of probate is preventing me to go forward if there is little value of what is to be transferred. Frankly - I can not define what needs to be transferred.
If you had a royalty interest, they may only be tied to the original lease and may not include the minerals. A mineral interest may have royalties tied to it, but a royalty interest is usually a subset of the mineral interest which conveys only the payment for the products under a certain lease, not the conveyance of the minerals.
Since there is no current production and the last royalties were minimal. I would suggest filing an affidavit of heirship.
You might want to check unclaimed property for all ancestor names:
Oklahoma Unclaimed Property Search
Very good advice. You never know if there may have been bonuses or royalties that went to the Oklahoma State Treasurers office from dormant bank accounts or oil companies that had no contact information. A while back I found money at the Treasurers office from a dormant account my grandfather had from oil royalties many decades ago.
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While researching for preparation of an affidavit of heirship - I ran across an Oil and Gas Division Order dated April 13, 1987 stating the deceased interest was a “non-participating Term Mineral Interest for a term of 20 years from July 20, 1960 and as long thereafter as production is obtained. In the absence of production, the mineral reservation expires and ownership reverts to Mr. X.” Because there is no production, can I assume there is no interest to transfer?
As good and helpful as the members of the forum are, I would not use this this format for a title opinion.
Kingfisher has online records back to 1988.
https://okcountyrecords.com/search/kingfisher#advanced-search
That would be correct for the information you have provided. If you would provide the full legal description someone here may be able to confirm the production information.
Would recording my client’s Last Will and Testament and Death Certificate in Kingfisher County take care of it? There is a probate open in Arizona. The original Will is with the AZ court system.
Mr. Winblad and Mr. Baker - Thank you for your input. I would like to hire someone to search title. Do you do this work or do you have any recommendations? All documents show Sec 36, 019N-006W Kingfisher Cnty OK. Income received was fm Effie McCully1, 2 & 3.
You’ll notice at the end of each of our Business Member’s posts (as Mr. Winblad is), there is a link stating “View My Business Profile”. You’ll find specific contact information there, along with information about their services.
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