My wife (and siblings) inherited mineral rights in Kern County. We have renegotiated and are extending the lease. Can anyone give me advice on how the new Deed is prepared and who does it? When my mother in law inherited the rights years ago, a Transfer Deed was used. We have copies of those documents that may be useful as a model, but don't know who to turn to for the new Deed. Any advice would be appreciated.
This is probably state specific. I would call the county recorder's office and they will let you know what form to use. In ND they even provide a blank form if asked.
Your question is not clear. You initially state you have "renegotiated" and are extending a "lease", but then ask how to prepare "the new Deed." Two different animals. If lease, then the oil company who is extending the lease will prepare. If deed, to transfer these mineral rights to someone else, then you should hire an attorney to draft it for you since you apparently don't have much experience drafting deeds. An (oil and gas) attorney could also help you with understanding any lease you are going to sign, as well as perhaps adding some terms into it that would benefit you more than the "standard" lease most oil companies present to mineral owners.
Frederick M. Scott
The Mineral Hub
Frederick is correct, the lease and a transfer of real estate (of which mineral interests are a part) are two different things. If your wife and her siblings actually inherited the property then there should already be a document, typically a decree of distribution, which was recorded and transferred those rights to your wife and her siblings. If, however, your mother-in-law still holds record title to them and she is deceased then a probate of some sort, even if it is a shortened form, must be completed.
Jean M. Pledger said:
Frederick is correct, the lease and a transfer of real estate (of which mineral interests are a part) are two different things. If your wife and her siblings actually inherited the property then there should already be a document, typically a decree of distribution, which was recorded and transferred those rights to your wife and her siblings. If, however, your mother-in-law still holds record title to them and she is deceased then a probate of some sort, even if it is a shortened form, must be completed.
I hope I can clarify my prior post. My wife is the executor trustee of my mother-in-laws' estate. Per the terms of the trust, the mineral rights are to be transferred equally to the siblings - one of which is my wife. The lease held by my deceased mother-in-law was up right around the time of her death. We are finalizing negotiations for an extension of the lease but need guidance on the process of getting the new deed drafted to complete the task. Quantum, the land services company, says they will not prepare the deed.
We have my mother-in-laws' recorded deed, but do not have a "decree of distribution" other than the trust. Thanks for the responses.
If I understand what you're trying to do, then all your wife needs to do is have a grant deed prepared from her as trustee of her mother' trust to each of the siblings, share and share alike. a title company might be able to help. Otherwise, you'll need to contact a lawyer to help prepare the deed, Good luck!
"My wife is the executor trustee of my mother-in-laws' estate."
I'm no expert but this statement is confusing to to me. And sometimes the State property and the trust are located will cause some changes.
Usually I see "executor" as the one charged with closing an "estate".
"Trustee" is the one with power to administer a "Trust"
Usually the Trustee that takes over after death is called a "successor trustee."
So I'm not sure if you are working with a will and estate, a trust, or a combination of the two.
Some things to consider though. If it is a trust, the rights may or may not have been placed correctly in the trust. I have seen trusts that were created but the property (or some of the property) was never placed into the trust. The trust listed the real property, but the owner failed to deed the property into the trust. Many wills also have provisions placing remaining property into the trust using a residuary clause.
Honestly some trusts create far more issues than they prevented.
So if you are working with a property trust, you need to verify the source documents that transferred it to the trust.
If you are working with a will that places it into the trust, you will have to probate the estate to place it in the trust. Then you can utilize a trustee's deed to transfer the property per the guidelines of the trust. I believe you will also may find that the deed will also have to contain documents showing the trust and provisions allowing the current trustee to execute the deed. You will likely find that a Memorandum of Trust was filed when the deed to convey it to the trust was filed. It should also state the powers of the trustee and what event(s) cause the successor trustee to succeed.
I suggest consulting with an Attorney.