My uncle apparently purchased some mineral rights in Oklahoma in the 60s, He died in 1980 without transferring them to my aunt; who died in 1995 without transferring them to her only heir, my father; who died in 2003 without transferring them to his heirs…his wife and kids (me and sibs).
So in some dusty book in the courthouse the title to these mineral rights are still with my uncle; though we could probably get them properly transferred to us with a fair bit of legal wrangling. Its not worth it though as it amounts to about $5000 in oil company rental. All this got me thinking…in 50 more years the ownership of these mineral rights will be completely murky and unknown. Is there some default mechanism in place to be able to obtain ownership of the mineral rights by someone…the land owner perhaps…when it is unclear or nearly impossible to determine whose heirs has the rights? There are no property taxes on these, so there is no ‘default’ where the mineral rights are auctioned on the county court steps like real estate. How are the mineral rights reclaimed or dispensed with (resold?) when ownership is so difficult to prove or is too costly to dig through and split it legally among 100 years of heirs?
In most states, if the oil/mining company can’t track down all the mineral rights holders for a piece of land they want to work, they can get the state government to negotiate on behalf of the missing rights holders. Any lease payments or royalties generated go into a trust account and become some of those “$ millions in unclaimed property!” held by the government. If the rights holder ever turns up, they can get the back revenue but in the meantime that money generates lots and lots of interest for the state government.
I don’t know if that’s the exact situation here, but if the revenue generated by the property is being collected by the state, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it if you can document the whole chain of inheritances. Here’s the OK unclaimed property page: Oklahoma State Treasurer
Some states do have what are called “unused mineral” laws that make it possible for the landowner to regain mineral rights when the rights holder can’t be found, or if the rights holder simply hasn’t done anything with those rights for a certain period of time. My casual googling suggests Oklahoma isn’t one of them, though.
Has some oil company actually been pumping oil on this land for some time now? If so, are they paying for the privilege (and if so, to whom)?
What I’m thinking here is, if someone is actually obtaining some mineral from the land, and has been for some time, without objection from anybody, can that party claim the mineral rights by adverse possession?
Does adverse possession work for mineral rights the same way it does for more usual property rights?
I’d think the probate process should have taken care of that; your dead uncle can’t retain mineral rights any longer. It’s likely that your mother is the technical holder of the rights.
I don’t know if the probate back in 1980 ever touched on it. Also the rights are in Oklahoma but the uncle was in Missouri. I was told that the rights have to be probated in Oklahoma and they never were…so on the books in Cleveland county courthouse; he is still listed as the owner.
We were contacted a few years ago with this information and we were able to provide convincing evidence to the oil company and broker that we were the rightful heirs, but not officially and legally at the courthouse…but that isn’t really my fundamental question; which is:
how do the rights eventually get claimed if it is too long ago and the heirs are so far diluted and not readily found. Who eventually gets legal ownership to such mineral rights and what is the mechanism for anyone…including random strangers to get those rights.
Phrased that way, your question isn’t really limited to mineral rights. It could arise with the surface rights as well. If old Uncle Bob is listed on title as owner of Blackacre, and then dies and the estate isn’t probated, 20 years later there could be an issue about who now owns Blackacre.
There’s no requirement for anyone to probate an estate. Normally family members or heirs have an interest in winding up an estate, but it can happen that it doesn’t get probated. If so, the estate continues to own the property, not next of kin.
I know of one family situation where the deceased’s estate was not wrapped up for over 20 years because of the mineral rights. The heirs found it more convenient to keep the estate open as a flow-through for the mineral income. The estate was the owner of the mineral rights for over 20 years after the death of the deceased.
GreasyJack touched on that. They become part of the “$$$ in unclaimed property” that agencies always bandy about in an effort to get their 10% if they help you claim it. Sounds like you have all the necessary information. Do a search of the Oklahoma government website and find the agency in charge of that stuff. They will have forms.
We are currently doing this in Kansas. Found about $4000 in assets that my late father was owed. Not a life-changing amount, but it will pay off the car.
That may be the law in Canada, but in those states in the USA of which I have some familiarity, having written title opimions for a title company, upon the death of the owner, title to his or her property passes to his heirs at law (which vary in the different states, but usually include the widow or widower and children in the proportions stipulated by the state’s laws). If there is no probate, there is no “estate” unless and until a heir or creditor decides to probate. Upon the death of one of the heirs, his or her title will devolve in like fashion. If the decedent died leaving a will, but it has not bee probated, any devisee, legatee, or creditor can probate the will. But until it is proven up, title is in the heirs.
If the title has become so convoluted (heirs have died leaving their heirs or title is in undivided portions among many heirs - some of whom may be unknown or unlocatable) the solution is to file a quiet title suit, in which the court can quiet the title in the plaintiff or other parties. Unknown owners or unlocatable owners can be notified by publication.