My mother inherited mineral right from her father while she was unmarried. She did not live in Colorado and after she passsed away her widower-huband signed a paid-up oil and gas lease wtih an energy company. Did he have the right (own the rights) to do so? My mother did not specifiy a beneficary for the mineral rights in her will but bequeathed her residue to her then-husband (tangible, personal, mixed property). Do her heirs have any claim? Who truly owns the rights?
Thank you.
John,
If the minerals have some income potential, you and other heirs may want to find an estate attorney for advice. If you or other heirs appeared as beneficiaries in the will, you may have a case depending on the state laws. Otherwise your name may come up in a minerals probate requirement after production is established on the lease.
Gary, thank you for your comments.
John
Gary L. Hutchinson said:
John,
If the minerals have some income potential, you and other heirs may want to find an estate attorney for advice. If you or other heirs appeared as beneficiaries in the will, you may have a case depending on the state laws. Otherwise your name may come up in a minerals probate requirement after production is established on the lease. Good Luck
Gary L Hutchinson
Minerals Management
John,
If your mother’s estate has not been probated you can protest the will. If it has been probated it will depend on several factors. When was it probated? Were you notified? Were the minerals listed in sthe inventory. Were the minerals in the same state as the probate?
Joan
I would consider all the factors, how large is the mineral estate, that would be one consideration, if it is a couple of acres, the attorney's fee to fight the probate might far exceed the value of the minerals. One must look at the whole picture and determine the future value received in relation to out of pocket expense. If she bequeathed everything to the husband it may be a difficult battle. There are other factors that an attorney would need to know including when and how she received the minerals, was she married to your father at that time, what are the laws of desent and distribution for the state she was a resident of at the time of her death. And probably more that I am not thinking of right now. See a probate attorney in the state she died who is also familiar with oil and gas law.
Based upon the limited information provided here, if the Will has been probated in Court, then yes, the widower had the right to execute the lease because he inherited the minerals through the Residuary Clause. Her heir, at least with respect to the mineral interest, is her husband, not anybody else. If her Will has been probated in Court, then the laws of descent and distribution for the State where her Will was probated are irrelevant. Those only apply if the Will has NOT been probated or there was no Will at all. Also, the mineral interest does NOT have to have been mentioned in the Inventory & Appraisement in order for title to vest in the Beneficiary of the Residuary Clause. P.S. This is not legal advice. Consult a reputable attorney.