I have already had my father's will probated in New Mexico, where my family lives. I have been informed that instead of simply filing the probated will and mineral rights deed at the court house in Dickinson, ND, I must have the will probated AGAIN in ND by hiring an attorney to the tune of $2,500!
Is this truly the law in ND, and is this an accurate assessment of attorneys' probate fees?
Ms. Goodwin, it is the law. The amount is about double what I paid 18 months ago to probate my fathers estate in ND. I'm sure, that the lawyers have raised their rate to reflect the demand. I would also suggest you get references for whoever you hire. If it costs you $3500 to have it done correctly and in a timely manner, I think you would be far better off, than if it cost $2500 and was not done properly and in a timely manner
What is the description of those minerals and how many net acres?
Do these details make a difference in how much the probate costs?
A-MAN said:
What is the description of those minerals and how many net acres?
Thank you very much for this information. In Lea County, NM, where I also have some mineral rights, the cost to probate is $117.
I have also been told by Holt Oil Properties that the original will is required for Probate actions to proceed. My father's will is on file in Lea County where he lived and where he died. Do you know if Stark Co. will accept a certified copy ? Sounds like I need to get these proceedings going ASAP, even though I do not know if the well being drilled will be productive. It is difficult to let go of this much money when I do not know if it will pay off.
Do you know approximately what percentage of recent drilling is productive in Stark County?
Also, if you don't mind, were you happy with the attorney you hired, and, if so, would you recommend him/her to me?
Thank you again for the information.
Donna Goodwin r w kennedy said:
Ms. Goodwin, it is the law. The amount is about double what I paid 18 months ago to probate my fathers estate in ND. I'm sure, that the lawyers have raised their rate to reflect the demand. I would also suggest you get references for whoever you hire. If it costs you $3500 to have it done correctly and in a timely manner, I think you would be far better off, than if it cost $2500 and was not done properly and in a timely manner
Ms. Goodwin, I would only recommend the lawyer I used as a last resort, as he made errors that required refiling and added months to the process. My best advice is to find a lawyer as far from the oil patch as possible. The probate can be done in any county in the state. I hope it would be cheaper in a non oil patch county and there is a good chance it would be faster. Im sure that a certified copy of the NM probate would suffice. You could wait to see what your well does, but payments may be held up if the probate is not done. The probate is frequently required by the oil companies before they will release the royalty payments, but it is not unknown for some oil companies to pay with just a proof of death and heirship on file in the county where the minerals lie. From what I have seen Stark county has been hit or miss in the past. The technology is better now, but there are no guarantees. Some cheap verticle wells that I have looked at in Stark county have produced nearly 2 million barrels of oil. I hope you get a good one!
Thank you.....
I hope my father's probated will is sufficient to get this taken care of. I am going to call the county court house (county clerk) in Dickinson and ask if the NM probate will be enough.
I'm doing the same...as we had the probate done in Minnesota...but have mineral interests in Montana. Thus, there is the need to do an ancillary probate in Montana. We are working with Char Shoyer, a paralegal with the Crowley Fleck Attorneys. Their number is 701-224 7558 (number on bottom of billing statement). While this is taking much longer than we expected, I do believe they are doing good work for us. Note that every time I have asked about the time, she tells me how incredibly busy they are...and all other attorneys are in this area. I found this firm after looking up the attorney who helped sell the land back 10-15 years ago. Note, earlier we contracted with an attorney named Hennessey...while an excellent attorney...after waiting for him to get started on our probate for over 15 months...we finally had to say "Thanks...but we're going to seek another attorney" as he never was able to make our probate a priority. Good Luck...
Donna If you would like the name of the law firm who is doing probate for my family in North Dakota please except my friend request. They have done an excellent job for us.
Shirley,
I accepted your friend request a couple of days ago. Hope I did it correctly. It feels so risky being 1000 miles away from somewhere and needing to hire an attorney from there. Thanks in advance for your recommendation.
Ms. Goodwin,
If you're still looking for an attorney, I know of one who will do the probate for $1500.00. He is located in Minot. If interested leave me a private message. I'm not sure I can give names and phone numbers in open discussion.
Yours,
Wes Luke
Thank you for the information. I will check into it.
Donna Goodwin
David Peterson said:
I'm doing the same...as we had the probate done in Minnesota...but have mineral interests in Montana. Thus, there is the need to do an ancillary probate in Montana. We are working with Char Shoyer, a paralegal with the Crowley Fleck Attorneys. Their number is 701-224 7558 (number on bottom of billing statement). While this is taking much longer than we expected, I do believe they are doing good work for us. Note that every time I have asked about the time, she tells me how incredibly busy they are...and all other attorneys are in this area. I found this firm after looking up the attorney who helped sell the land back 10-15 years ago. Note, earlier we contracted with an attorney named Hennessey...while an excellent attorney...after waiting for him to get started on our probate for over 15 months...we finally had to say "Thanks...but we're going to seek another attorney" as he never was able to make our probate a priority. Good Luck...
Once again, Ms. Goodwin. Knowing what I know now I would seek a lawyer in the farthest most Northeasterly county in ND. Far from the oil patch, since the probate could be done in any county in the state. I think it would be cheaper and faster. Good luck.
Just wondering, I am presuming my attorney must be from North Dakota (?)
Thanks,
Donna Goodwin
r w kennedy said:
Once again, Ms. Goodwin. Knowing what I know now I would seek a lawyer in the farthest most Northeasterly county in ND. Far from the oil patch, since the probate could be done in any county in the state. I think it would be cheaper and faster. Good luck.
Ms. Goodwin, I imagine you are far enough along in the process that this information won't be useful but maybe somebody else here isn't.
In order to do an ancillary probate (much cheaper and quicker) you need to have a probate still open somewhere to use as an authority or in other words, to anchor the ancillary probate. $1,500 is a decent price if your minerals are not to many and spread out all over the place. You can't avoid probating real property, which minerals are.
I need the same thing. My father died in 2004 and I started attempting to manage my mothers financial affairs. In the past we always received affidavit of heir ship and that seemed sufficient. My goal is to get my father's will probated in ND (5+ counties) and then deed the mineral rights to myself while reserving a life estate so the proceeds go back to my mom while she is still with us.
Any recommendations are appreciated!!!
I buy mineral rights in North Dakota counties and it seems like every time I purchase there are many title issues. You will want to have a title search done to make certain there are no other issues that need addressing. The last tract I bought in Divide needed 2 probates done so it was cheaper to do a quiet title. I've had to do one for Dunn, Mckenzie, Mountrail and Williams Counties as so many found no reason for marketable title. A lot of companies will lease on an affidavit of heirship but many will not pay royalties on it.
How do you know if a probate is open??
I have a copy of the probate done in Texas 1980's and the 2 deeds. The 2 deeds are in Dunn and Billings Counties ND. I guess I need an Attorney? If someone used an Attorney that they were happy with can you Email me the info? bwernow @comcast .net Have no clue on how to go about this.
Thanks
Bruce