My mother signed a mineral deed in October. She was under the impression that she signed a lease. On what grounds can I fight? She is not English speaking and didn't realize what was happening. What can we do now?
Unfortunately situations like this are likely be an uphill battle. Out of curiosity, what was the name of the company that she sold her mineral rights to? There have been several complaints on this website about some companies who have acted at best immorally and at worst illegally in Tarrant County.
Paperwork reads "Precision Capital" and "Hayden Holdings"
It is hurtful to say the least.
This company has been cited numerous times on this Forum for ALLEGEDLY committing similar actions in addition to ALLEGEDLY committing illegal activities like forging documents and fraudulent notarizations. If I were you, I would contact the Tarrant County District Attorney's office immediately to file a complaint. I believe they already have an ongoing investigation into these companies and I'm sure they would love to hear from you.
I'm afraid I don't even know where to start. Is there a specific division?
Call the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office at 817-884-1400 and tell whoever answers that you'd like to report file a criminal complaint. They will take it from there.
Thank you. How frustrating........
It is my understanding that in Texas that you have to insert the following language in your mineral
deeds or it voids the transaction and it has to be in a relatively large sized print.
BY EXECUTING THIS INSTRUMENT YOU ARE SELLING ALL OR A PORTION OF YOUR MINERAL INTEREST IN THE ABOVE DESCRIBED LANDS.
We buy a lot of mineral interests and insert it in all of our mineral deeds.
Dirk
Well it does in fact say something similar and very clear "this is not a lease" however my parents do not read English but do speak a little.
Lorie, If I remember the font size has to be at least 14. Since the damage has already been done, if there is no confidentiality clause I would copy the document, black out your parents names, scan the document and attach it here, so you can get the very best help the forum can provide.
Lorie Palacios said:
Well it does in fact say something similar and very clear "this is not a lease" however my parents do not read English but do speak a little.
The copy I have was pulled from the Tarrant County website, so not sure if it's true to size. It seems smaller than normal.
What age was your mother? There are some criminal laws on abuse of the elderly. Also, has the check cleared and has the deed been recorded?
Lorie 14 point type is pretty large. If you log in to your e-mail and change the font to 14 point and type a few words you will see what I mean. The language about it being a sale and not a lease should be larger than the other words or it would lead me to believe that the font was too small because if the whole document were 14 point type it would probably take a poster board to hold it all and not a normal or legal size sheet of paper.
Lorie Palacios said:
The copy I have was pulled from the Tarrant County website, so not sure if it's true to size. It seems smaller than normal.
Good morning.
My mother is 68 now would have been 67. This actually happened in October. She made attempts to contact company her "lease" was with thinking she needed something for her taxes. That's when she was told she did not have a lease with them. A previous lease had expired long before. My mother just assumed that the people who contacted her in October were the same ones she had signed a lease with years prior.
So what does this mean? when you "sell"? Is there home at risk of loss?
The font looks slightly larger than the rest but not significantly.
Lorie-
The home is not at risk unless the legal description of the land in the deed included the home.
68 may be a little young to interest the DA's office in it, unless she had serious health issues or mental deterioration.
The only sure way to get this set aside is see a lawyer about filing suit to set the deed aside.
Lorie Palacios said:
Good morning.
My mother is 68 now would have been 67. This actually happened in October. She made attempts to contact company her "lease" was with thinking she needed something for her taxes. That's when she was told she did not have a lease with them. A previous lease had expired long before. My mother just assumed that the people who contacted her in October were the same ones she had signed a lease with years prior.
So what does this mean? when you "sell"? Is there home at risk of loss?
The font looks slightly larger than the rest but not significantly.