My grandfather, who has passed away, owned interests in a lengthy list of both Working Interests and Mineral Interests in Oklahoma - I am one of the heirs. We are trying to find a consultant that can take a look at this list and advise us on whether to keep the interests or sell them. Where or how would I find a person to help us with this?
You can observe qualified professionals (often with localized expertise) who provide services to mineral owners in our Mineral Service Provider Directory. These practitioners are often able to provide the specific services that meet your needs.
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Are the interests located in multiple counties? Or just one?
Have you already had title transferred into your name or are you trying to get a handle on the ownership side as well?
@Warmheartsland multiple counties; the probate is in process but not finalized so title hasn’t transferred. We’re trying to figure out whether we should get rid of some of the working interest before title transfers to us.
You should look into getting an appraisal done. That would give you a good idea of the long term valuation you are looking at. Then you could make a decision based on some good information. Depending upon how many properties you have, an appraisal could probably be completed in 2-3 months.
I would think about it before getting rid of any interests, especially as prices are beginning to rise. Maybe consider finding someone to help you organize and manage your interests instead.
I encourage you to talk to someone and make sure you are considering all the options.
Have a great day. Lana
I agree with Lana. If you search the directory you can find service providers that can help with what you need.
Have a good one ~
That’s what I’m trying to do - get advice so we can make an informed decision. The working interest list is long (more than 40) - most of the interests are old - but we’re unsure how to proceed. The mineral interest list is shorter but still several counties.
You can search in the Directories list above and you can also contact the NARO (National Association of Royalty Owners) OK chapter and they have a list of Certified Minerals Managers who are familiar with Oklahoma.
Were the properties outlined in the probate decree? That would be helpful. Were the properties evaluated during the probate process? That is often done and would be helpful. Are the heirs individuals or was there a trust or LLC established? Is anyone in the family interested in actually managing the minerals? That can be quite interesting and help all the family out. Many of us do that for our families. The market is rather depressed now (in my opinion), so selling now has pros and cons regarding prices received, capital gains tax if applicable, etc. If you do sell, then you do need an evaluation in order to get the “step up” value set for all the heirs.
@M_Barnes thanks for the information about NARO…I was planning to attend the national conference this year 
The probate is not final; in fact we are at least 6 months away due to the attorney being swamped because of Covid and the decree will be lengthy. We do have a list of all the working and mineral interests. The heirs are individuals. We don’t plan on getting rid of the mineral interests but there is a long list of older working interests. It just seems to us that it might be better to have the executor sell those off before they are passed onto the heirs.
My mother had the same situation. The estate paid for the evaluation to be done and it was very enlightening. We kept our minerals since one of us was interested in keeping things rolling. It also gave us a feel for the valuation. Most offers that we received were about 75% of the discounted cash flow. Your situation may differ if not one wants to keep track of everything. If you have a big block of acreage, you may do better with a package sale from an auction house. Your estate attorney may also be able to give you good contacts for sales. I am not a fan of working interests for the casual mineral owner, so selling them and hanging onto the others might be a good idea. But you need to know where they are and what the WI value is as some may be worth keeping.
If there is a way “I” think you will ALWAYS do financially better if you keep your assets and do your own management of your minerals. USUALLY none of the purchase offers you will receive will accrue into more than you would make if you do your own leasing. Just DONT sign any leases without letting a lawyer advise you on adding clauses that are to your benefit. The first lease you are asked to sign is vERY MUCH to their favor. Just remember it’s still the WILD WEST when it comes to this oil leasing business - and you can get taken advantage of very quickly. Also, purchase offers I have received don’t come close to what can be received by just getting a fair lease – remember they aren’t going to offer you a fair deal; they are taking a risk and want to paid for that. I would rather take the risk and hopefully have a good payday for me or my heirs. ---- O yes; this is just my opinion and I am not offering advise nor am I an attorney.
I agree with @Bud.
There are a lot of qualified businesses on this forum, ready, willing, and able to help you organize your assets so you can start making decisions.
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