After months of getting all required docs filed and waiting on royalty payments for Sundance Kid with Camino, now everything is in probate. How long does this take. What causes this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much
Probate is often necessary to clear up title to property. The time frame varies by state and complexity.
This post is not legal, investment or tax advice, it is for discussion purposes only. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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Depends on the actual intricacies of the case, ie Testate, Intestate, number of heirs, state the decedent(s) died in, value of the properties owned, etc. In the shortest cases, 3-6 months due mostly to “Notice” requirements. If complex, 6 months and longer. The lawyer handling the case should be able to give you an approximate time frame. Be sure to have the Final Order filed with the County Clerk’s office and then send a file stamped copy to Camino along with executed W-9 forms for quicker royalty payments. You will be entitled to interest from 1st production, but you have to request it.
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I’m not a lawyer, but we went through OK probate in Garvin Co for same given area as the Kid last year and this is how it went.
Probate was filed Jan '21 and finalized Sept '21. Nothing complex since there was a will and clear titles. However, Covid did impact turnaround, hopefully, you’re past that now and it’ll be faster for you, but it will still take several months. They must allow a certain amount of time to pass for anyone to come forward and dispute it.
Note, I think that once probate is filed companies will suspend and accrue royalty payments until the probate is finalized to make sure all heirs are properly compensated. Once finalized they’ll catch you and any other heirs up for the accrued royalties.
I did find though that if you have a will with everything spelled out, an executor who has court issued Letters of Testamentary, and a death certificate, some companies will go ahead and process division orders in accordance to the will based on the executor’s authority. Though, they’ll still suspend royalties until they get that set up. But, this can normally be done fairly quickly.
In Oklahoma a summary probate/ancillary process is often available. Assuming no debts, contests or hitches, an estate can often be closed within 60-75 days from the initial filing.
This post is not legal, investment or tax advice, it is for discussion purposes only. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney-client relationship.
I had to go through probate to make it official, but I did not have to wait on checks. However, I was an only child and had a “Will” that left everything to me. Citation Oil had me send them a death certificate, a copy of the Will, and made me fill out and notarize a “Death and Heirship Affidavit”. Once I did that, I filed it with the county the oil wells were in, and sent them a copy. I immediately started receiving checks in my name. You might check on a “Death an Heirship Affidavit l” while you’re waiting on the probate.
Gee. Honestly I think we did better without the will. We filed an “Avadavat of Heirship” which we provided for all property transfers and mineral rites. Provided it to the oil company who then sent us the Division Orders to sign (new company). Took maybe two months. Got the form off the internet and printed one for each property etc. my sister and I both signed and have friends that have known our family forever verify that there were no other children, notarized and sent to respective places. Also had $ in Texas Unclaimed Property for an old Oklahoma oil/gas deal. Sent death certificates and avadavat. Btw. The Oil company got it through the county clerk for us since we live a long way from the midland area. We deal with SM Energy and I’ve found them to be very straight forward and helpful. I even bought stock recently in their company. Lol
In Oklahoma, sometimes the affidavit of heirship is accepted by a company to pay royalties. Some companies require a probate (or completed trust administration) for some interests. Other companies will require a probate even for small interests. Each operator has a different risk factor that they are willing to accept. It is not unheard of for a royalty owner to be paid by one operator, but when a new operator takes over they require more. The AOH is the cheapest approach. The best approach for current owners is to investigate probate avoidance planning such as trusts or transfer on death deeds.
This post is not legal, investment or tax advice, it is for discussion purposes only. Reading or responding to this post does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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