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Mineral Rights Inherited?

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akplynn

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?State of Texas!

My mother, who will be 80 this year, had apparently inherited mineral rights in the county of Reagan, Tx. when her uncle died abt. 1976. I say this because she has had an offer to buy her rights from a royalty management company on two seperate occasions, via mail.

This company has offered a very low price, but advised that if she had any other written offers within the past 2 months, that they would pay $500 over the other offer(s).

They do not disclose the actual details or location of her mineral/royalty rights! They only enclose a legal paper saying that she will sell all such rights to them .... !!!

Since mom's brother & one of her sister's had handled the will, but had no knowledge of the mineral/royalty rights gleaned from same, where do we go from here?

My questions are: How do we find out about mineral/royalty rights that she apparently owns? Do we write to the county of Reagan, the state of Texas or to the State/County of residence of her uncle at the time of death? (He lived in an Eastern State.)

Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely, AkPlynn
(Born a Texan & proud of it!)

PS: We are now living in Alaska & it would be difficult to go to Texas to get the information in person.
 


BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
I'll try to give you some guidance even though you're from texas.... :eek:

Mineral and other rights are specific to the property. In other words, to separate them, there must be specific language in the deed relinquishing these rights and that language must be specific enough to identify the location and type of mineral rights (i.e., all rights or specific to a particular element such as natural gas).

Therefore, your first step is to contact the county recorder's office in the county where the property is located and give them enough information (name and address) to find all deeds that belong to your mother.

You will have to pay postage and copy fees but after you receive them you have some homework. Also, if you feel the price is low, you can have a survey done to assess the likelyhood that certain 'minerals' are present and make your determinations based on this information.

Most such assignments are not sold outright but 'leased' with a sliding scale based on the amount of 'minerals' recovered. And that's why, if it's discovered that a possibility exists that something is there, an attorney is necessary to protect your future rights such as royalties.
 

akplynn

Junior Member
Mineral/Royalty rights in Texas

Thank you for answering, BelizeBreeze!

I called the Reagan Co., recorder's office as you suggested, where I learned that there are two sections of land that had been in a great uncle's name. The great uncle's name was Peter Simonson, brother to my grandfather. He had 2 sons: Peter & Richard. This Peter is the one that my grandmother had cared for. When he had died, my grandmother inherited his property in Florida & on Staten Island, NY & may have been unaware of these mineral rights. Her oldest daughter Helen assisted her with his estate. Grandma died in 1996. Her properties were inherited by 4 living children, of which only 3 are now left. Aunt Helen just died early this month. The lady at the recorders office said that the company that is trying to buy the Rights from Mom had probably done research & found her as the only living relative.

I am the family genealogist researcher & have quite a lot of information, some of which goes back to 1190 AD, but very little on Peter Simonson's two sons, Peter & Richard.

The lady at the recorder's office provided the info on both Simonson's holdings. Peter owned 2 sections of mineral rights & Norman owned 2 others next to it. Peter had a brother, whose name I have only as Richard - unknown middle name - Simonson. Possibly Norman? ... or is he Richards son?

The taxes on Norman's property rights are paid up. Apparently, Norman is still alive & living in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.. According to my late aunt who kept up with the relatives, Peter was never married or had children. She handled all affairs of the family deaths.

According to the tax office of Reagan County, there is still money owing for the years 2001 to 2004, which I offered to pay. That lady will send me the papers with the official land descriptions & instructions for paying through the internet.

Questions:
1. If we obtain the wills of both my great uncle & grandmother & neither mentions the mineral rights of the properties, how do we determine who owns them?
2. I just called the tax lady back & obtained the address of Norman Simonson who is paying the taxes on the other two parcels. Should I contact this person myself to find out if any relationship exists or do more research myself?
3. Should I go ahead & pay the taxes at this point or wait until I figure out this mess?

Your advice is truely appreciated!
Sincerely,
AkPlynn
 

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
You are getting into a very murky area of probate and there is no indication that you will stand to inherit anything, so why bother?

That being said, and based on the location of the properties, I would STRONGLY suggest you and any other relatives who might stand to inherit either through will or intestate succession, hire a Title company to research the history of the parcels which will determine if the mineral rights were ever sold or deeded.

It's an expensive proposition, but based soley on the location of the property, may be well worth it.
 

akplynn

Junior Member
Mineral/Royalty rights in Texas

Thanks again BelizeBreeze!

Murky is a good description of this situation! I sure have a headache from it!

Mom just came home from a doctor's appt. & I asked her more questions. She believes that Norman is a 2nd cousin, (son of Richard) whom she met at grandma's 85th birthday party in Ft. Lauderdale, years back. Mom's youngest brother Arch is living there now & knows him, so I hope to catch Arch at home to further this investigation! He does a lot of travelling for work.

Arch would most likely have the papers that belonged to Grandma, as he had taken care of her up until her death. He will also be able to contact Norman & hopefully get the true facts on their relationship to us.

I will pass your advise on to Arch about the title search, as well. It definately sounds like a good idea!

Again, Many, many thanks! I'll try to update this post if or when we find out more of the facts! : )

AkPlynn
 

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