My family owns small portions of mineral rights on multiple properties in Wilkinson County MS as acquired by my grandfather in the 1930's. How do I go about verifying that the chain of title is properly recorded in County records and we are included as lessees as appropriate? The properties are located in: T-3N, R-1E, Sections-4, 6, 15, 22 & 29 and T-1N, R-2W Sections 10 & 11. There may also be other locations for which I have no record. Hopefully all records of mineral ownership in Wilkinson County as acquired by J.Q. Billings shows a title chain as follows: J.Q. Billings to Katherine Hays Billings to Ruth Billings Cortelyou and currently to Robert Hays Cortelyou. Any suggestion on how this can be verified will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I would suggest you hire a local land man to "run" the minerals for you. They will also know some of the pertinent requirements to make sure they are registered and that you indeed own them. In MS there is a tax stamp or something that is to be paid or has to be paid when a mineral is bought and sold, so likely that portion needs to be checked out. An attorney can also do it for you, but they might be a little more expensive. Additionally, you can also go down to Woodville and do it yourself.
R. Ike Craig said:
I would suggest you hire a local land man to "run" the minerals for you. They will also know some of the pertinent requirements to make sure they are registered and that you indeed own them. In MS there is a tax stamp or something that is to be paid or has to be paid when a mineral is bought and sold, so likely that portion needs to be checked out. An attorney can also do it for you, but they might be a little more expensive. Additionally, you can also go down to Woodville and do it yourself.
Thanks Ike. I would really like to go to Woodville to do the research myself but I would not know when i could do this. Do you have an idea how much it would cost to have a land man run the minerals? Are you a land man? I would like to have an estimated cost to check title on the six or seven parcels on which I have records of owning mineral rights and a separate cost estimate to check other parcels. I feel comfortable that title transferred to my deceased mother who received numerous lease and royalty payments in the 80s and 90s but to my knowledge there has only been one active well in the last 15 years or so with no recent lease request. I am just looking for a level of comfort that current Wilkinson County records reflect me as the current owner of record of her interest.
R. Ike Craig said:
I would suggest you hire a local land man to "run" the minerals for you. They will also know some of the pertinent requirements to make sure they are registered and that you indeed own them. In MS there is a tax stamp or something that is to be paid or has to be paid when a mineral is bought and sold, so likely that portion needs to be checked out. An attorney can also do it for you, but they might be a little more expensive. Additionally, you can also go down to Woodville and do it yourself.