Oklahoma mineral law Title 52 #52-552 especially paragraph E. The oil company could not find . my deceased grandmother to pay her a lease bonus consideration. Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) and the oil company agreed to follow the law. The money was put into an escrow account controlled by the oil company. The oil company promised to work real, real hard to find me for one whole year. Instead, the oil company remitted the funds to OCC after 9 months and the OCC accepted them. The oil company found me after 11 months. But, OCC will not give me the monies. My bona fides were okay for the oil company but not for OCC. OCC should not control the monies until one year has lapsed.
My understanding is the funds go to the OK treasury, not the OCC. First I have heard about the OCC being involved.
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Dear Ms. M_Barnes: Thank you for your reply. The oil company remits the funds to OCC, as required by OK Statute Title 52 #52-552. A division of OCC, the Mineral Owners Escrow Account department (MOEA). MOEA directs the funds to the OK Treasury. Within the OK bureaucracy, the oil company reports and transmits to the OCC. Laymen, such as myself, do not deal with the OCC, but with the OK Treasury. The details of the funds appear on both the MOEA and Treasury websites…My point is a simple one. Per a simple reading of Title 52 #52-552, Paragraph E., neither the OCC nor OK Treasury are involved with the money until the one-year anniversary of the OCC approval allowing the oil company to drill. With highest regard, Steve Constant
Guess you have to wait a couple more months and try again to get the money released. Good luck!
Dear Ms.M_Barnes: Trust me. Once Oklahoma takes money that they had no business taking, it is gone. For Oklahoma to admit they were wrong and refund the money will never happen. To sue,the legal costs would exceed the royalty. Steve Constant
I have not had a problem getting the funds out of the Treasury after the proper amount of time has passed. They do want proper title identification, but that is to be expected. They will take the OK taxes out of it which is also appropriate.
I’ve had several clients who have received their money from the Oklahoma State Treasurer. If you want an apology from the company or the state treasurer, that is not likely to happen. However, if you want to retrieve your money, you will have to comply with their directives. It can be done. You don’t have to sue, you just have to comply.
What do you mean by this statement? Have you had your grandmother’s estate probated in Oklahoma? Todd M. Baker
Feel your pain, we had a similar problem a couple of years ago and it was very frustrating trying to get the funds released. We ended up having to get a lawyer and by the time it was all finished the law firm got the majority of the money while my sisters and I got a pittance. If we had known what a nightmare it was going to be for a couple of thousand dollars we would have just let the money sit in the treasurer’s office until Hell froze over! Good luck!