Hello my father unfortunately passed away on January 31st quite rapidly after getting sick. He had no will and was divorced to my mother. He had three children including myself, me being the oldest son at 33 and two younger sisters aged 23 and 28.
We split up the personal property between ourselves and we agreed to have his royalty split between us 3 weeks as he would have like it. However my uncle this month is asking for it in a legal document.
Do I have to and file to become my fathers executor to deal with all of this?
Is there anyway to do this faster, my father was already giving us a monthly check out of his royalties from his money and my little sister just out of college was really counting on that check to keep coming. My uncle did say if had a legal document stating we were all in agreement, and with our full names, addresses and social security numbers, he would be more than willing to issue out the checks like that.
@Jeffrey_Alexander while others will chime in with respect to your questions, on behalf of this forums administrators and members, allow me to express our condolences in the loss of your father. We’re glad you’re here.
So sorry to hear about your father. I know it is a difficult time. Depending upon which state you are in, the assets follow the rules of intestate law for that state, so you do need to get some help in order to get things straight and the title passed to you and your siblings. Don’t wing it. There are some attorneys on the Directories in the forum and quite a bit of forum information on intestate filings.
If you have inherited mineral rights, you need to file the probate documents in the county courthouse(s) where the minerals are located. You may have to file an affidavit of heirship or you may have to file other intestate documents depending upon your state.
You need to find out if there is any production and contact the operators to get into pay status. Not all minerals may be in pay status at the time of inheriting. Find out which minerals you inherited and track down the deeds or probate documents that preceded your time frame.
Set up good files. Collect everything you can from the estate information and family files. Get familiar with the state websites and ways to fill in your gaps in info. You are doing your heirs a favor!
You need to find out what the value of those minerals are worth as soon after inheriting as possible. They will be set as of the date of death of the ancestor. If you ever sell, you will need that information and it is harder and harder to figure out as time passes along.
You need to get informed as to the past activity and pending activity in the area surrounding your minerals. Most offers are because the buyer knows something you don’t know and they plan to make a profit. Find out what is going on so you can decide whether or not to sell based on the financials of present value and future value and what your financial plan is.
Make sure that you have good estate planning and that the minerals will be included in that plan.
I know that it is a bit overwhelming in the beginning (been there!), but you can do it. Read the forum in the states and counties where you have minerals. Read the forum in the legal area to find out the information on intestate rules to follow and do get good legal help. It does not have to be expensive.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
The actions you need to take depend upon the state in which you are located.
I am not sure the role of your uncle. Unless he is a trustee of the trust that owns the property it is unclear his role. If this was your father’s property, I don’t see how your uncle is now involved.
You need to visit with an attorney in the state where the minerals are located. See the button above.
Agree with Rick. In 99% of the situations, your father’s brother has no role or say in what goes on or who gets the interest. But, I wouldn’t sit idly by.
The intestacy laws of the state that the minerals reside in will apply to the property. Not the state that the mineral owner is in.
If he died with a Will it should be probated in the county and state that he resided in at the time of his death and once the probate is initiated, certified copies of the last will and testament and order probating will should be obtained and filed in the county where the minerals are.
Oklahoma probate law does not require that a Will be first probated in the state of residence of the decedent. Often, a decedent will have no property subject to probate in his/her own state and therefore there is no need to do so there. Visit with an attorney where the minerals are located to determine the requirements there.
button above.