An ancestor owned oil and gas rights – how do I get title to them?
We are seeing a lot of situations where our clients have learned that they own mineral rights that were earlier reserved by an ancestor. They typically learn of this through an oil and gas company who has researched title on a parcel they are interested in leasing (or sometimes on a parcel that has already been drilled). The company discloses who reserved the minerals and describes its efforts in establishing a family tree for that person.
Based upon the company’s research (using Probate records, Ancestry.com and other tools) it determines those persons presently living who would have ownership of the minerals and the percentage of the minerals each such person owns. Oil and gas leases are then prepared for those persons …