My mother passed away 2 years ago, and we came across a quit claim "conveying all right, title and interest of the grantor in and to said real property, including any and all oil, gas and other mineral rights." to the six of us siblings. I need help in starting the process to establish leasing if it is not done yet. As far as I know, there are no monies that have come our way from these mineral rights. We are totally in the dark about this process. None of us live in the area. A company has been contacting my older brother, with interest in buying the mineral rights. So, I am trying to research the value, if any, of the mineral rights. I am hoping to educate myself and my siblings of any value and the steps necessary to accomplish the most value for us. I would appreciate any information from anyone that can help me along this path. The only information I have is the description of the property on the quit claim. Any help for this newbie is greatly appreciated. I live in western Oregon.
McKenzie County, North Dakota
TOWNSHIP 147 North, Range 99 West:
Section 34: N 1/2
TOWNSHIP 145 North, Range 100 West:
Section 1: All Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4
Section 11: All
Sorry, I have posted this again. I am confused about where to post my topic.
First up...you need to file this "deed" in county. That will transfer ownership "if any" to you. A quit Claim deed doesn't say you own anything, it's says "IF I own anything, I'm transferring it to these people".
After that or with that, you can file a "Statement of ownership". This is a simple letter say here's who I am and our currant addresses.
These should be filed in the county you own in (McKenzie County North Dakota).
Then you should talk to the companies leasing in your tract. You can find this out by looking at the records. North Dakota has records on line that anyone can access through NDRIN http://www.ndrin.com/ There is a subscription fee, but it will be worth it to see who is leasing in your tracks.
(and I didn't look up to see if there is a well on there yet or not)
BTW. Do I need to hire an attorney in McKenzie county to do this, or can my attorney in Oregon do it? Or can this be done by lil ol me without an attorney. I am of average intelligence, I think.
You can record the quit claim yourself. The recorders are non-judgemental and will record a ham sandwich if it has room for the seal at the bottom and enough margin on the right hand side for the barcode. As for a statement of ownership, you might get some help drawing that up although I doubt it would be absolutely necessary. I did look and you don't have any wells and the wells around you are not what I would call good, but the offer you have received, unless I miss my guess is pretty low. I'm not one of those people who say never sell but since non-producing minerals are not taxed, I would hold on to them unless the money is significant to you. In fact you are close to KOG's Grizzly prospect and they have some permits. If KOG can get some decent wells, the value of your minerals could increase substantially. If KOG gets some poor wells I don't think it would hurt your minerals as a long term investment, which is probably how they look right now to a buyer. Good luck.