If your property and mineral rights are owned as an heir by one spouse, can you have the lease name both husband and wife as owners?
Want to protect spouse in case the other spouse (the heir) dies.
Don:
The answer is yes, both husband and wife names can be recorded as mineral rights owners.
While Mr. Mallory's answer is non incorrect, in my experience (Texas), the more correct answer would be: "If the property is the separately property of one spouse as a matter of inheritance and is not a homestead and thereby communitizing the ownership, then only the owning spouse is required to sign; but, ofter the other spouse may sign as a matter of identity to the other: "Mary Jo Smith (nee Mary Jo Jones), joinded herein by my husband Sam Smith for purpose of identity but the herein-described property being my separatley-owned interests and constituting no part of our homestead, as Lessor"
The granting of an oil and gas lease does nothing to transfer title into the wife's name. In order to do that transfer, a separate conveyance will need to be made. Easy to do and costs little.
To protect the wife. either give her the minerals by will, or by separate document. Granting a lease does nothing to accomplish your goals.
The primary reason for having the second, non-owning spouse sign a lease would be to confirm the separate nature of the property, in my experience. As Buddy said, you would need a separate conveyance to give your spouse ownership now or in the future.