my cousin used a heirship affidavit to proclaim authority over the intestated minerals. the real 4 owners - my aunt & my dad’s wife and the 2 wives of my dead uncles did not sign the Lease. how much of a legal mistake error did the oil company make by allowing my cousin to authorize?
the new oil company due to mishaps in divison order processing has suspended US because they came the title/lease are NOT marketable
Depends on how good the well is. Where is property located?
Wayne: This is frustrating but is probably not the end of the world. After all, your cousin’s signature only binds his/her interest in the minerals but does not effect yours. That being said, sometimes an affidavit of heirship that fails to account for others may be incorrect or fraudulent. In Oklahoma, an AOH does not create “marketable title” until it has been on file 10 years without anything to contradict it in the interim. Also, in Oklahoma companies are often willing to accept a lease and even pay a bonus based upon a “flimsy” AOH. However, royalties will generally not be paid until there is a probate that distributes the minerals.
thanks well the suspension never should have been put on us in the first place my cousin did not place a gun to the head of the landman or oil inc. that drew up the Lease. remember this is a NEW oil company that suspended us. took a few months at least for the div ord dept to realize that only a new well or a new company would firmly require a Probate to establish marketable title. So they are accepting a new heirship from us along with a PROPER filing in correct county !! haha ugh…yes seemingly my cousin didn’t even file correctly. 2011 I imagine was a time where wildcatters were HYPER and let stuff slide for sure and of course that’s one of the reasons why this original company was bought out in first place ( late summer 2014) bcuz they had taken on too many leases to properly execute-drill (low equipment capacity/manpower too perhaps ? and of course MONEY) so Whiting stepped in to save thee Day ha.
The title opinion that is used to lease is not the same one as the Division Order title opinion. Sometimes, there are Landmen with sloppy title opinions or none at all who will lease and then flip to someone else leaving them to figure out the title later. I always strike the warranty title clause on my leases since I do not want to pay the attorney to figure it out. The operating company will do the new Division Order Title Opinion (DOTO) because the DO is a contract to pay the “correct” owners and they are much more rigorous in their standards since the monies involved are much higher.
interesting. thanks.
I have been issued a new DO which I think the percentage is incorrect and has been for years. I have asked for the title opinion or lease or any information like that from the company that is handling this for the operator. I did recieve the last DO I signed about 5 yrs ago that also transferred the royalties to me from my dec’d Grandmother and Mother. I’ve tried to reach the operator with no luck at all. The company that handles it says they only have a USPS address for them and the phone number that is out of service for contact information. It seems like it would be really hard for 2 companies to do business via US Mail only. But what I am wanting to know is where can I get a copy of the title opinion or anything like that if I’m getting no where with these companies? Is it unecessary for someone to ask for that info? Should i send another emaik and CC someone at the TRRC? Or whim ever governs this?
The only company that will have the Division Order Title Opinion is the operator. You can only get the paragraph that goes with your title, not the whole opinion. I have found that if I send a certified return receipt letter requesting a copy of the lease and the title opinion paragraph, I get lucky sometimes. Note that the lease will have a description of the gross parcel acres, not your net acres. The lease will be filed in the county courthouse where the minerals reside.
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Thank you so much. I appreciate your help I have so many more questions. Trying to do my own audit. No one has kept up with this since the late 70s early 80s. 36 wells on property but we collect on 2 supposed to be 3. I may contact a professional auditor or atty.
First thing that you need to do is be sure that you have a chain of title, the legal description of the gross acres, and how many net mineral acres you own. Some counties have title records on line back to sovereignty and others do not. A good landman can help you with this. Then you need to determine how much of the acreage is included in each well (or group of wells under one lease id) to figure out your royalty decimal in that well or RRC lease. The well plats and permits will help with this. The title opinion is only as accurate as the deeds and title information provided to the attorney by the oil company’s landmen. Sometimes deeds are missed. Neither the RRC or any other state agency are responsible for title records. It is up to the owners to make sure that transfers, whether by deed or probate, are recorded in the county. Also, RRC requires that the operator have a phone number and name of responsible party listed. Go on RRC website to Online Research Queries to Organization P-5 Queries. Select Search Operator and enter name to find operator; highlight name from list and “Add” and then Submit. Click the Operator Number and information will open up. If those phone numbers are disconnected, contact the RRC and let them know. If you post more detailed information about your operator, someone may be able to help you with contact information.
Thank you! It is Five K Partners and or H.A. Knox. Yes I did check the phone number on the TRRC website as welll.