Obtaining mineral rights in Texas

Ownership and Title
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I acquired some land and the deed did not mention mineral rights, which I would like to own. My deed does not mention the mineral rights. However, looking at prior deeds, the mineral rights were mentioned two deeds prior to mine. I checked the county appraisal district website and it does not show mineral right owners for the abstract. My title company did not include the mineral rights in the title policy. I would like to know if I now own the mineral rights, or how I would find out the owners so I can purchase the mineral rights.

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Not an attorney, and no legal advice intended.

In general terms a deed that “did not mention mineral rights” should mean the seller, along with their surface rights, conveyed whatever mineral interest they owned in the property. A deed should state if the seller was reserving (keeping) all or part of their mineral rights.

If minerals weren’t mentioned in your deed the question seems to be, did the person you acquired the property from own any of the mineral interest?

When you say mineral rights “were mentioned two deeds prior”, how were they mentioned there…in terms of the seller making a reservation, or in referring to a mineral reservation that an earlier seller in the chain of title had made? Title companies don’t insure title to the mineral interest. Determining who owns the minerals can require researching the full chain of title to the property (all of the previous deeds, etc.). If none of those previous conveyances included mineral reservations then the current owner of the land would still own the full mineral interest, but in many parts of Texas that is pretty rare. Where mineral reservations were made generations ago and all the transfers in title aren’t documented by deeds or probate proceedings, genealogy research can be required to track down the current mineral ownership…the kind of thing landmen make a living at.

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  1. Current owner, me 2017 - no reservation in title
  2. Mom through affidavit if heirship 2015 - no reservation in title
  3. Mom and dad 1987 - no reservation in title
  4. Non-family - reservation included percentage of mineral rights conveyed by her father and mentioned other party’s rights
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