We are in Florida and need recommendations for a landman in Rusk County,TX.
If someone gets back to you, can you please share. I have been trying to find a landman in Rusk County Texas for a while. Thank you! Cathy Kurtz
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I have landmen all over Texas, but don’t want to solicit. What are you looking to accomplish? Maybe I can point you in a good direction.
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My husbands mother passed away and we need her minerals rights transferred to him and his siblings. He spoke to someone that said we need a landman. I’m doing the leg work for my husband. So any help is appreciated. Thank you for responding.
I currently live in WA State so don’t get back to TX too often. I inherited a farm & minerals from my parents in the '70s. A few years back Sabine renewed their lease option with me & was on the verge of drilling. Land site cleared, fence put up, permit approved, etc. and the new land owners (I sold the property) filed suit to block the drilling. I don’t know the facts but was told they wanted some additional money. That caused things to grind to a hault, they received the addl funds they were asking for, and before drilling could begin, Sabine went into bankruptcy. The lease has been expired for about 4 years now & Sabine is back in business. They have told me the bank is calling the shots on where they can drill but it seems if all the research had been done and costs expended & they were ready to drill previously, why would the bank not let them now. I am afraid something has happened due to the land owners & wanted to speak to someone locally so maybe they could tell me if anything is going on to prevent them from re-leasing or anyone else leasing and drilling. I have no contacts in the area. (the mineral rights are part of the James Latham Survey). I have specific info on site if needed. Thank you. Cathy
Depending on whether she died testate or intestate will help determine whether you need a landman or an attorney - or anyone at all.
Is the interest currently under lease or production? If so, contact the Division Order Analyst with the company and ask them to issue any necessary forms or processes you need to go through getting things transferred over.
Otherwise:
If she had a Last Will and Testament probated, it could simply be filed with the county as a muniment of title. If she did not have one, an affidavit of heirship should suffice. You can find templates online. To be thorough, try to find two disinterested parties to each sign a separate copy of the affidavit. Put everyone’s current address and phone number (maybe even email as that tends not to change) on the affidavit as well. If more needs to be done, an oil company will go through the expense to do it themselves when it comes time to lease your interest. Just negotiate with them that they have to cure your title and file any necessary documents of record themselves.
Hope that helps
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Cathy, I would start by contacting Sabine and asking them to release your expired OGL. If they refuse, you may have to get an attorney to clear it up for you. Aside from driving by to give you an on-site analysis of the land (which you don’t own), and checking for a unitization agreement, I don’t know that there’s anything more a landman would be able to do for you. I would go the route of contacting Sabine’s land department and asking for answers and then a release. Past that, you may need more help than a landman can offer.
I want to ask a point of clarification please. My lease expired over 4 years ago. Why would they have to release anything at this point?? That is what I am trying to find out if there is any reason why a landman wouldn’t be interested in these minerals as they were ready to drill and the bankruptcy stopped everything. Sabine has told me if someone else is interested to certainly move forward with a new lease, that is why I am trying to understand why no one seems to be interested and I figured a landman might know.
Without knowing the details of Sabine’s bankruptcy proceeding, it’s impossible to determine whether they were granted any rights to suspend or perpetuate any leases they may have had at that time. A release would unequivocally show that your minerals are not held and are available to be leased again. You should always demand that a release be filed of record any time you have an expired lease as it removes all question as to the status of your minerals.
Great information!! Thanks so much for your help!!