My sister, cousins and I have received an unsolicited offer to purchase mineral rights to property that we (supposedly) inherited. The property was owned by my grandmother’s nephew who never married or had children. The person who contacted us stated that the property reverts to the nephew’s parents and their siblings which then bring in my grandmother and her family. He thought that 32 people could be part of this inheritance chain.
The property is in Reagan County Texas and was put into receivership with the county clerk last year. The clerk established a 3 year lease with an oil company. They drilled a horizontal well and are producing oil and gas starting in October. I found monthly average (6 months) oil production numbers of 10255 BBL (production) and 10141 BBL (disposition). The monthly average for Casinghead gas is 20083 MCF (production and disposition).
I am trying to decide if I should sell my interest – if I have one. Is the described inheritance chain correct? How can I establish the value of our mineral rights? What monthly income is expected based on the production numbers provided? The lease stipulates a “royalty” payment at ¼ (one quarter) the market value at the mouth of the well. So far, no payments have been made to the county for royalties. The county has only received an initial lease bonus of $25,600. Are the heirs entitled to a share of this bonus?
I suspect legal fees may be costly.
Is it worth the cost to obtain title for our share of mineral rights?
Thanks in advance for any advice
Mr. Davis, do not be too quick to sell your minerals. It may not cost as much to solve this problem as you think.
The problem you have can most likely be fixed with a little time and effort. Once you get it fixed then you and your family will have an income stream plus a more valuable piece of property
Thanks Charles, I plan to take my time. I just needed advice as the worth of the mineral rights or possible monthly income. My inclination is to gain title (correct term?) and gain the unexpected income stream. I thought someone my know more about the inheritance chain.
Intestacy work is pretty easy if you've got the information on your family history. That can also be done on an amateur basis at Ancestry.com or you can hire a forensic genealogist. The facts that you've provided above sound consistent with your family owning mineral rights, but that would need to be vetted to determine exact ownership.
Thanks Brandon, I have done some work with the "Familysearch" site and have some information as to my relatives. But I just don't fully understand the "Intestate Succession in Texas" . The person who started my inquiry said that as many as 32 individuals could be involved. I don't come near that but i am missing information on some of my relatives. As yet, I have no feel as to what monthly income can be expected from this well
NO, you should never SELL your interest unless you are in very bad financial shape. Even then, you would probably be better off selling to a relative or friend than one of these fly-by-night royalty companies.