Half Mineral Rights Not Mine


try to make this short.signed a lease. 18 acres in bradford co. pa, 3 years ago.been offered buy outs etc.
all documents, offers etc. state 18 acres. now there is a well and i am in the unit. all acres are in the unit.
but only have rites for 9 ? called chk they said someone has half your rites.went to the court house and found
that a lady in 1953 who was 85 years old sold the land and kept half the rites.she died in 1957. how do i get
my rites back?land was sold 3 times before i bought it in 1991. there is nothing about mineral rites in any deed except 1953. thanks for any help  p.s. for people who want to know i have been offered 5000 per acre
for my rites.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa McManus on January 16, 2013 at 8:17pm

It can create a lot of problems, particularly when the reservation is from the 1800s. As a previous comment notes, there can be HUNDREDS of heirs after such a period of time, and locating them can be very difficult. I can say, though, that I represent landowners who've been impacted both adversely and beneficially by such reservations, so I can see it from both sides. I represent some folks whose grandfather reserved interests, and now they are seeing the benefit from that reservation. 

Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on January 16, 2013 at 8:53pm

Lisa,

Thanks for your knowledgeable and through explanation of this situation. I certainly learned quite a bit from your excellent post, and I really appreciate you sharing your expertize in this area of the law.

Permalink Reply by Lisa McManus on January 16, 2013 at 9:23pm

My pleasure, Oliver. 

Permalink Reply by Mike C. on January 20, 2013 at 1:57pm

I spoke with a couple of CHK folks and they were pretty sure that they did track down the heirs to this reservation.  Take it for what its worth but they seemed pretty confident about it.

Permalink Reply by Sara A. Worsham on January 21, 2013 at 10:31am

If she reserved 1/2 of the mineral rights then her heirs, or whom ever she left them to in her will would have gotten them.  If they are no longer living, then it goes to their heirs, etc.  You would have to locate those individuals.  They will also be a part of the unit also, so might not be willing to sell the rights back to you, but it is worth asking.  I hope this helps in answering your question.  Also, remember when you sell your rights, they are gone- you will not be getting any royalty checks.  If you are in a unit, you could potentially get royalty checks for a very long time, so carefully consider if you want to sell those rights because the well that you are a part of could produce for many, many years and eventually your heirs could benefit from those royalty checks.  I am part of a well that has been producing since 1993 and get royalty checks monthly, so the $5000 that they are offering you might not be worth it, unless you need the money now.  Just my 2 cents.

Permalink Reply by William P.Milchak on January 21, 2013 at 11:20am

Good Morning,

My bes!!!!. We have 180 acre lease that has "oil" only on it. We have 4 other parcels that have oil and gas. Trying to determine who might have the "gas" has been a pain. I live several hundred miles from the courthouse and have not wanted to engage an attorney and may well end up having to do this anyway.

 

Anyone alse have mineral rights that have just "oil" cited?

 

Bill

Permalink Reply by Arco on January 21, 2013 at 12:16pm
there's a thing called the dormant Mineral Rights act an attorney in Woodsfield Ohio Richard Yoss that can answer all your questions
Permalink Reply by Janice L. Hancharick on January 21, 2013 at 3:22pm

Does this Act hold true in PA?  I don't think so. From the 1950's the line of heirs, whether they knew about their 1/2 of the 18 AC or not, it has undoubtedly petered down to the point that some folks somewhere own 1/32 or less of the original acreage. This is a frequent happening. Explore the option of Quiet Title or something else with an attorney ... quickly!  A reader may already be doing this to get control of the other 9 AC.

Permalink Reply by Lisa McManus on January 21, 2013 at 7:27pm

The Dormant Oil and Gas Act of 2006 is current law in PA. Please see my reply from a few days ago on the Act. You can't quiet title to the OGMs if you don't already own the title to them. The heirs of the people who excepted and reserved the interest own the interest unless someone else has developed the rights for over 21 years (adverse possession). Although there have been numerous proposals to change the law, the current law remains as set forth in the DOGA. 

Permalink Reply by Janice L. Hancharick on January 21, 2013 at 10:15pm

Thanks for the clarification Lisa.  This is an issue in many areas of NY and PA where drilling has been ongoing for over 100 yrs.. Two states and undoubtedly 2 sets of rules.

Permalink Reply by Lisa McManus on January 21, 2013 at 10:21pm

Yes, very true. Each state has its own - I'd like to see Pennsylvania pass a better dormant oil and gas law than it has right now, but even the pending change won't make things much better, in my opinion.

Permalink Reply by Larry Gander on January 22, 2013 at 10:04am

EXCELLENT,CLEAR,CONCISE! WISH OUR OGM WAS IN PA INSTEAD OF WV. WE COULD CERTAINLY USE YOUR TALENT. .......

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