Where does one get a legal form to transfer ownership of my mineral rights? Recently signed lease which has been combined with others and consigned to a production co.. Would a separate form be needed to notify the production co.? I want to give these mineral rights to my children prior to my death. There is no production, nor plans to file for drilling permits that I know of. Need for this transaction followed signing of the lease. And needs to be accomplished ASAP. Can't afford attorney but would like to do this as clean and solidly correct as possible. Thanks to anyone who can point me in right direction.
Harold:
I believe a "Quit Claim Deed" would work in your situation in regards to passing the minerals onto your children. Google in the "quit claim deed" in the Search Mineral Rights Forum box in the upper right hand corner to view past posts regarding this matter.
Harold,
My father used a standard quit claim mineral deed to his children and reserved a life estate for himself. When he passed in 1997 there were no attorneys involved.
Do a search for Mineral and Royalty Deed forms. There are several online.
I think a quit claim will work fine if the person who is quit claiming has up to date title. You can't give clear title to property you do not have clear title to. If you quit claim without clear title, the grantee may have some title work to do in the future, probably a quiet title action 30-50 years down the line. Operators can not be forced to pay royalty on acres that do not have marketable title and lately it looks like it has been trending that that they not do so, making people perform probate actions to receive royalty on less than an acre, after all, it costs the operator nothing, they are not paying your lawyer and they will keep the money safe and warm for you, and of course their title is good even if it is based on your flawed title so it's not like the operator is not getting his money.
Don't understand all the quit claim replies. Based on the question, he says he owns the mineral rights. Why would anyone question him on that? He says that he owns them and wants to convey to his children.
There is no reason to use a quit claim form. A standard mineral deed form would work fine as only one reply indicated.
Quit Claim comes into play when someone thinks that they may or may not own an interest. If they do own, then the grantee acquires that interest. The grantor is simply saying "I don't warrant that I own a particular interest, but if I do, then I am conveying it to you without any warranty of title."
Based on the facts of the question, a quit claim deed would seem to be non-responsive. He tells us that he owns the minerals, and that he wants to convey to children. I would say that Charles Cunningham gave the best reply.
Mr. Miller,
If you are 100% sure that you own the minerals, use a Mineral Deed with a warranty clause, not a Quitclaim Deed or a Mineral Deed without a warranty clause, because it will give your children more marketable title if and when it comes time for them to sell their respective portions of the minerals/mineral rights that you give them to somebody else. If there is any doubt whatsoever about your ownership, use the Quitclaim Deed.
In either case, if you want to enjoy the benefits of mineral ownership for the rest of your life, including any future royalty income, in your instrument of conveyance reserve unto yourself a "Life Estate" in those minerals/mineral rights. That way, when you pass away, there will be no need to get any attorney involved, at least with respect to those minerals, they convey in fee simple to your children automatically, regardless if you have a Will or not and regardless if that Will is probated or not.
Good luck,
P. W.
You may want to be careful. If you aren't used to preparing legal instruments, some of the advice you have received may be over your head. Make sure also that you have an accurate legal description on the deed. Try to conform your signature to the way your signature reads of record. If someone sold you the minerals in 1967 as Harold Thomas Miller, don't sign the mineral deed to your kids as H.T. Miller. Sign it as your name appears in record title.
What you are trying to do is not without some risk. In addition to looking at online forms, you might want to get some copies of actual mineral deeds to review at your local courthouse. It would cost you $1.00 a page if you were able to dig them out. I'm not sure how broke you are, but once the deed is prepared, it will still need to be notarized, and filed in the Office of County Clerk WHERE THE LAND IS LOCATED. They will also charge you a fee to file it.
You should also mail a certified copy of the transfer of ownership to the current lessee. (oil co.)
You can request a certified, stamped copy from the Office of County Clerk at the time you file the instrument - also for an additional fee. :(
Good luck.
I am grateful for all your responses. I inherited the mineral rights from two generations ago. Dave, looks like I need to plan trip to county. Thanks to you all.