Will try to be brief, starting with some backstory:
My father quitclaimed all (as far as we know) his mineral interests in Grady co., OK, to his 4 children last June-- about a week before he passed away. He wanted us to avoid the expense of probate I guess, since these properties weren’t generating much in royalties. Less than 2k per year total. I see in OKcountyrecords that the quitclaim was indeed filed.
Each of us kids received DO’s from 3 different operators fairly quickly, but not all returned them promptly. One has yet to act, though I keep urging!
Now, the problem:
Just received a new DO, from a different operator than the 3 above, and with Dad’s name on it, but none of us kids have gotten one like it. There’s no legal description other than “Chickasha Noble-Olson SU.” (I think SU= Sand Unit?)
I don’t know where this is, so cannot compare its location with our property descriptions.
Dad had sold other mineral rights a couple of years ago-- it must be possible that he didn’t include all his remaining interests in the quitclaim exhibit.
I am the estate representative. I’m willing to purchase subscription to view/print the Grady county records but have not yet done so.
All of us live outside Oklahoma, but know of a lawyer in Chickasha who handled grandparents’ mineral interests.
I am the only one taking the “crash course in royalty ownership” lurking here and wishing my parents had told me more about it all before they died!
My question is this:
What do I do about this particular DO?
Alright, sorry it wasn’t that brief… Thanks in advance for any help!
Couple of general answers here:
It is not required in OK to return a division order in order to get paid. However, I think it is wise to do so. First of all, in the transfer of minerals such as this, the operator will take out federal income tax on the royalties if you do not return the W-9. Secondly, you want to leave your own heirs a paper trail. Third, you always need to check the new DO against the old DO to make sure the decimal makes sense.
The Chickasha Noble Olson sand unit is an enhanced waterflood recovery unit that spans many sections. What you are getting its the DO for the particular section(s) that you may perhaps own.
You can look up the unit on the OCC site for free. Scroll down in the documents until you find the map and see if any of those tracts match minerals that you know you own. Many of those old fields pay royalties on several different zones, so you may have multiple operators for the same tract. OGUnitization
The particular field has been sold a few times over the last few years. Every time I turn around, I am getting a new DO. Even more important to check these because I have found discrepancies.
What you can do is call the operator for the DO and request to speak to the Division Order Analyst that handles that unit. Then ask them what particular tract they are paying on and what is its description and why do they think they your dad owns it. He may have forgotten about it if he was ill. You may have to file some title work corrections to get it into your names.
Thank you, @M_Barnes, for your quick and thorough reply!
I’ve downloaded the document and will check the map in more detail. At first glance, think we have several parcels in the area. Operator’s contact info isn’t on the DO, but will look it up.
Haven’t found any “old” DOs (yet) to compare new ones to. Would not know whether discrepancies exist nor how to correct them. Dad’s files are… messy.
If Dad had forgotten about any tracts-- and it’s likely, as he was very ill-- would I find them all listed in the documents on OKcountyrecords (that I haven’t yet paid to view?) I saw several entries under his name besides the quitclaim and sales that I knew about.
The online files at okcountyrecords only go back so far depending upon the county. Some counties go way back and some only to about 1991 or so. You can find quite a bit there, but not everything. Everything official is in paper form in the books at the county courthouse.