I have mineral deeds that have been recorded in several counties in Texas and Wyoming for years. Some of my deeds are under lease with active production and some deeds are not. My mailing address has recently changed and I have given my new address to the oil companies that have current leases/production with me. In some counties I have no current leases or production so I wouldn’t think Appraisal Districts would be a source of my contact information for landmen, etc. Clerk and Recorders offices in counties where my mineral deeds are recorded only have copies of my deeds which contain no contact info for me.
How do I make sure that other oil companies or landmen that I’m not currently working with know my current mailing address if they want to contact me concerning lease offers, etc?
Contact the recorder of deeds in each of the counties where you have minerals an see if they have a particular form that they want used for a change of address. Some are very particular about margins, letter vs legal paper, etc. Also find out their fees. Usually a certain fee for the first page and a smaller fee for any extra pages. Then using the correct form or style, file in each county.
When we filed in ND, they were very specific as to style and form and required an exact description of each acreage. If you have book and page where the deeds are filed, you can also reference that. I also enclosed a check and a return receipt self addressed envelope so that I knew it was filed. I also sent mine by certified mail return receipt so that I had a paper trail as to who received the documents on their end.
The companies will find you if they are trying to lease or buy your minerals, doesnt matter how old your address is. But, you can file a notice of address change for the sections that you havent leased, its a rather straightforward process that might take you 30 minutes to prepare if you already know your legal descriptions.
I have your same problem! My grandfather who lived in Scott County, VA purchased rights in NM, TX, OK back in the 1920s and 1930s and he died in 1950. None of his heirs live anywhere in that area and I worry about landman being able to find me in North Carolina! So for each county, I thought had potential I prepared a document that I filed with the county court clerk that describe the property my grandfather purchased and my grandfather’s name. Additionally, the document included how to contact each heir that I am aware of, complete with addresses, email, addresses, etc… I have no idea if this will work. So far it hasn’t . . . but it’s not surprising as I’m not hearing of any new wells being drilled on property I believe we own.
Maybe this will work. But maybe this is a total waste of time and money on my part. IDK!
Be sure and check the oil and gas commission websites in each state for any wells near or on your acreage. You were wise to file with each of the county clerks.
As mentioned, Landmen looking to lease you will find you. They are very resourceful and the county appraisal district is absolutely a resource used for this goal. Others had good ideas but maintaining a current address with the CAD is a good place to start and doesn’t cost anything.
The county courthouse is the official place for addresses since the title information resides with the recorder of deeds and probates. The landmen start there. CAD may only have producing acreage depending upon the state.
Here’s update since I posted my original question that started this communication. (As a reminder, after a change to my mailing address I want to make sure that landmen or oil companies know how to contact me {via regular mail} concerning any of my UNLEASED Mineral Deeds.) Until there’s a lease with production (which there is not at this time) I am not contacted by an Appraisal District. I explained my situation to the Chief Deputy in the Records Division of one of the counties (in Texas) where I have Mineral Deeds recorded who said her County Clerk’s office will NOT accept and will NOT record a “letter” (her words) that I submit for recording where I list my current (new) address and the legal description of my Mineral Deeds recorded in her county. I could submit a “Correction Affidavit” showing my new address for previously recorded Mineral Deeds IF those deeds contained my contact information, which they do not. Her final words were “Landmen are resourceful. They will find you.” Anyone have any further thoughts or advice? Any landmen out there that want to enlighten all who have this same question ……. and share any thoughts/advice on how to best handle this type of situation?
No county in America will accept a “letter” to file. Since you are just wanting your address out there, download a quit claim deed, list your properties in the legal description, your name as grantor with no address and your name and new address as the grantee
Reminder that this forum has people posting their opinions and this is NOT legal advice. Anything you file in deed records is a legal document and you need to be very careful with the wording so you do not end up with a title problem. Many on-line deeds, leases, etc. are very badly drafted and can cause problems later. At a minimum, you should have any document, especially a deed, reviewed by an oil and gas attorney before filing. An attorney may advise you as to a better filing.
I would never file a deed of any kind for change of address purposes. File an Affidavit stating your legal descriptions with no interest or amount of acres shown, only the gross acres, with your old address & contact information and your new address & contact information. Have the same signed & notarized and file with the county clerk’s office. If a mistake of any kind is made with a Deed, the title becomes clouded and you have created problems that did not exist.
For what it is worth, Texas Appraisal Districts only go by what the operator provides them for producing properties. So if you change your address with the operator, they may or may not notify the Appraisal District.
I’m not giving legal advice, but advice from being a field landman for 40+ years doing title examination.
I thought I typed, “file a quit claim deed or affidavit/notice of address change” but guess I left the latter out. Re: the QCD, my thinking was its the easiest of the 2 for someone to complete, using a simple ARTI QCD. Use the exact same name he came into title with as grantor and grantee, with a new address for the grantee and using only the legal descriptions for lands conveyed (no need to list gross and have no clue why one would ever list net acres) would be the easiest fix to the only problem that he is trying to solve, getting his new address on record. Not sure how that could/would ever cause/create a cloud on title, given the title was clean to begin with into his name and hes conveying the property he already owned to himself? For TennnisD, this is not legal advice, just one old farts opinion on the easiest way to fix the guys problem at the cheapest price.
Here is one document I filed in Lea County, NM. I don’t think I did a very good job of explaining what I had done. No county (TX, NM, OK) has had any issue in recording this document.
M-Hiership-Lea NM Recorded .pdf (954.5 KB)