I see that this group has not been very active lately but wondering if I could get some advice/help. I just found out that I inherited mineral rights in Limestone county.
My father (who I never knew) passed away without a will... The energy company that found me just finally sent me the transfer order a couple of weeks ago (they had to find all living heirs and I had to get the death certificate for them) and the mineral rights are being split 3 ways (so I get 33%).. I can see from the order/paperwork there are 704 acres of gas but that's about all I can tell.
I got a little excited at first because it sounded like it could potentially be a lot of money.. the energy company does not explain things very well... I can hardly get any info from them..
So today I call them and finally just asked how much it was and when I would be expecting the first check. The funds have been in suspension for 4 years because they were looking for heirs..(another reason why I thought at least the first check would be a considerable amount)... the lady tells me the check will be about $600.... but not to expect that much monthly because this money has been accumulating and it's the first check... ???
I was just very disappointed... is it just that the wells are not producing much? She also never explained anything about a lease and when I asked, she said if I sent her a request in writing that she would send me a copy..... but basically made it sound like I had nothing to do with the lease and that it was an indefinite contract.. It just isn't making sense to me.
Sure isn't much for 4 years. It would depend on how much interest he owned; i.e., how many acres he had in the 704 acres and whether he sold any of his mineral rights. For example, if he had 100 acres in the 704; he would have 1/7 interest acre wise, and then typically the land owner keeps 1/16 of any mineral interests. In this example he would get 1/16 of 1/7 or .008928 of the money. So, if the entire 704 earned $1,000 in a month, then he would have gotten $8.89 for that month. The energy company should send you a statement of how much was produced for each of the months in the 4 years and then show your dad's interest (or portion). I also inherited my interest, and I bugged the you know what out of the company until I understood all this.
Whatever leases your dad signed I'm certain are irrevocable and bind any heirs also...so basically you will have to accept whatever terms they are and cannot change them (or at least I'm pretty certain you can't).
The other thing is the price for natural gas is ridiculously low right now; however, they should pay you the price at the time in the past.
One last thing--how many wells are producing on the 704 acres? If there are only a few, then more could be drilled when prices pick up and then you would get more money per month. Lately I've been getting requests every other day to sell my interests in the 704 acre pool I am in. I'm sure these companies try to get people to sell because prices are low right now. Unless you really need a lump sum of money, if I were you I would never sell my interests.