Hi! I have so many questions I don’t even know where to start bc this has been a road to nowhere going on almost 10 years now. So, I’ll try to be brief. Around October 2011 my family was contacted by a landman (?) out of Woodville in Tyler County Texas regarding several different tracts of mineral rights passed on to us from my deceased mothers side of the family. For several months he kept in contact as he was discovering deed after deed that had been passed down. We received Tobin maps, well names, tract info & an assortment of paperwork that ultimately led to us signing several leases with Kodiak Drilling Company, which not long thereafter seemed to be referred to as BBX. I don’t know the connection I just remember their names on the paperwork. So, a few years go by & we get bonus payments here & there & paperwork regarding tax info & after a pretty good stretch of time receive division orders. I was hesitant to sign them right away bc I wanted to have somebody help me look them over first so I held onto them. What followed in this period of time was hurricane Harvey & the loss of everything I own… including ALL PAPERWORK PERTAINING TO MY OIL AND GAS LEASES. Of course, getting my life back together took priority over every other situation so it was another stretch of time before I even thought about my mineral rights. Well, as luck would have it, I was dealt another blow with Tropical Storm Imelda & for a second time lost it all and found myself starting completely over. Unfortunately, this is no easy task and it takes time and a toll on you in more ways than one. Needless to say it was another year or so before I thought about the leases and when I FINALLY found the time & energy to contact those folks… they were nowhere to be found. I spent a lot of time going in circles with the ones I did reach only to be sent on a wild goose chase that ultimately ended with a promise to get back with me left unfulfilled. Email after email after phone call after voicemails and one day out of nowhere I get an actual person on the phone from Zarvona who tells me they’ve acquired my leases and once they have all the information sorted out they will be in contact. That was 3 years ago. About 6 months ago I started trying them again and I got a response via email from a very friendly guy who would only give me very minimal information. All I was requesting from them is whatever they have that has MY NAME AND MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER ASSOCIATED WITH IT I WOULD LIKE COPIES OF. I would think I have a right to know who I’m doing business with and exactly WHAT THE BUSINESS IS? Right? His reply to me was very cryptic… he told me “you’re on the right path, don’t give up”… ?? The next contact I received was from his supervisor who informed me of how I was more than welcome to contact the county clerk for any information I was requesting…?? Excuse me? Why can’t the company who is admitting they have my leases not able to at the very least send me a copy of that lease? We had some words and once again, silence. No response. I looked up the production for the wells in which I hold an interest and they’ve been producing NONSTOP for the last decade. What do I do?? Has anybody else had this type of experience? I am so lost. Any suggestions or similar stories?
Im new at this myself and am finding the same issues, but what little ive found out is you may need to get a Landman or DIY, to find and obtain the documents at the county court house before theyll talk to you. However, freelance Landmen arent easy to find, but I found Charles Brackett/ Camino Alto Land Service
What a nightmare! It is very common for wells to get sold to different operators over the life of the well.
If you share which states your properties are in, we can point you in the right direction. Some of the leases and deeds can be found online if they were filed in more recent decades. You can download for a small fee. Much of Texas can be found at www.Texasfile.com. Most of OK can be found at www.okcountyrecords.com.
Zarvona is actually handling your request correctly. They want to be sure that they are talking to an actual heir instead of someone trying to steal royalties. Go back to them and ask for the Division Order analyst for your state and Section, township and range or abstract. Explain your situation, who you ancestors were, when you inherited and what county and state your ancestor lived in. They will be able to help you if you are very polite and patient. They will probably require probate documents and a W-9 in order to release any information. You are on the right path and they are trying to protect you.
In TX you need to sign division orders in order to get paid. In OK, you do not, but I always do so that the federal taxes will not be taken out of my checks. You should also check the property tax files in the counties in TX where you might own minerals. You need to keep those taxes paid. In OK, the operator takes out the taxes for you.
Also check the unclaimed funds areas for your state with the state Treasurer’s offices. That is another way to find missing royalties if they were held in suspense for more than seven years. They will also require ID, SS# and probate documents in order to release funds to the proper heirs.
Good luck. It can take a good bit of time to get all your info found again. We keep copies of all of ours both in paper and in the digital cloud world since we also live in a flood prone area.
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