About a year ago my father was going to sell my mothers mineral rights, but he had been divorced from my mom and he wasnt the owner anymore, well in the prosess of his deal the deed got transfered into the companys hands without my consent. I never signed any paperwork to sell. They have had the deed for a little over a year now, what can i do to get it back, i live in california and cant deal with them face to face.
Cari, If this amounts to enough money you should hire an attorney. You said he wasn't the owner anymore, whose name was on the deed before the divorce? Was the deed transfered to your mom as part of the divorce? Did your Mother pass away and were you the only beneficiary of her estate? If so was the deed ever transfered into your name? If he sold a deed that didn't belong to him does he realize he may have committed fraud? If you haven't already you should contact the buyer and explain the situation. If they did not do a proper title search there could be some liability on their part and they may be agreeable to having their attorney straighten it out. Hopefully someone on this forum can give you some more specific and professional advice.
Cari, A couple more thoughts on this. Did your Dad sign a contract and receive money? If all the company has is a paper copy of the deed they don't have ownership of it unless they have recorded it in the county where the mineral rights are located. If title has not been transferred all they have is a piece of paper. I'm not familiar with N. Dakota, but the actual deed is most likely on file with the county clerk and you can probably call the clerks office and find out how to get a copy of the deed. You will need to furnish them with as much information on the property as possible. You might also try googling the name of the county and see if they have a website.
Ms.Abrams, I don't see how you can be held responsible for someone elses, possibly criminal actions. I think you should seek the record of your mothers deed and file an updated statement of claim. What Mr. Hutchison says is true, the deed is just a piece of paper. They need the owner or the heirs signature to transfer title. It would be a good idea to update your claim anyway, they have a dormant minerals statute in ND, where if you don't own the surface the surface owner can claim the minerals if they have not been used in 20 years. The county recorders office where your minerals are may have a form for making a statement of claim, but you could do a hand written one if it contained all the information; they also can usually make a certified copy of your mothers deed and mail it to you for a modest fee, the county recorder should be your first inquiriry, in my opinion.
I believe her mineral interest is in North Dakota but I would imagine they have a similar commission.
Hello im sorry it took so long to get back to you. My mom owned it before she married my dad, when they divorced, he thought he was power of attorny for her because she was handicapped, well he wasnt i was, and when she died, he sold his mineral rights, and tryed to sell her's he had to have us sign papers to sell his, and then when it came for him to ask us to sign for my moms i didnt, because we didnt want to sell them.
Michael Hutchison said:
Cari, If this amounts to enough money you should hire an attorney. You said he wasn't the owner anymore, whose name was on the deed before the divorce? Was the deed transfered to your mom as part of the divorce? Did your Mother pass away and were you the only beneficiary of her estate? If so was the deed ever transfered into your name? If he sold a deed that didn't belong to him does he realize he may have committed fraud? If you haven't already you should contact the buyer and explain the situation. If they did not do a proper title search there could be some liability on their part and they may be agreeable to having their attorney straighten it out. Hopefully someone on this forum can give you some more specific and professional advice.
So where do you stand now? Were you able to locate your deed?