Several members of my family just received a letter from an oil company wanting to lease or buy some Payne County mineral rights from us. We have inherited these rights from grandfather on down, but none of us knew about these rights, and there is no mention of them in the will, and he was meticulous! We have even spoken with his still living best friend, who is an oil man, and he had no idea that we had them. The county assessors office confirms that these rights are in his name. We have no idea how many acres, or what is happening on that land. We are now trying to figure out the next steps, and none of us live anywhere near Oklahoma. 1. Do we say yes, or no? 2. How many acres do we have and how do we find out? 3. Do we need an attorney? 4. I am sure we have other questions we have not even thought of..... Any help would be really appreciated. It turns out, according to the assessors office, that we actually have other rights besides the ones referenced in the letter we received.
Do you know the section , township & range ? Who's name did the assessor say the mineral rights were in ? Most leases or sales would want you to warrant & defend the title . Did you get your information from County Clerk or the County Assessor. The Assessor is more involved with surface ownership then mineral rights . Do you have the surface also ?
This is not unusual or even new. I am sure the will just said something to the effect that "...give it all to...but does not mention the specifics, i.e. "mineral rights split between my twin sons and my concubine, myuncashed royalty checks to my Basset Hound, my upper plate to my sister if she survives me, otherwise to the Salvation Army, stuff like that. All legal, even the chompers. BTW my Grand father was also very maticulous and kept great records and accountings, things we seem to have lost as time goes by. LOL
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is sponsoring a workshop for non resident royalty owners in Indianapolis on September 21.