Me neighbors and I have recently been approached by Dominion regarding an old lease (1953) which gives them rights to drill. They want to amend that lease with the new owners, us.
None of us even knew about this lease, but we found a copy and it does look like the owners then did sign a lease with an oil company.
We each own about 3 acres. And then the company representative informed us that we each only have 50% of the mineral rights. The rest is held in a trust.
I did some research and found the person he named in the county records. She passed away in 2021. Is there any way to determine who the other 50% of the rights now belong to?
I was raised in a military household, as well as being a vet myself. I have never owned property before and have no idea how to apply any of this, so any advice is appreciated!