Do Mineral Rights Inherited Intestate Really Belong to the One Who Inherited Them?

Ascent stopped our royalties saying it's unclear if mineral rights inherited intestate are really ours.  They were inherited thru a will by my mother but she died without a will in 1977 and we inherited them.  My mother forgot she owned the rights and we were unaware the rights were there (until tipped off by a surveyor in 2017 when we filed an affidavit).  Ascent claims because the rights were inherited intestate and because we didn't "re-register/claim" the rights in the intervening time, 1977 - 2017, they don't belong to us.   Were paid royalties for 5 years before Ascent brought this up and stopped paying with no notice. Anyone have a similar experience?  Contacted 2 o/g attorneys.  One dragged his feet to the tune of $2000 and the other refused the case.  

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Permalink Reply by David Cain 7 hours ago

keepthefaith,

I am not an attorney, but you may want to do some research on the Marketable Title Act (MTA).  I think that could kick in after 40 years depending on the wording of the deeds between 1977 and 2017.  This is assuming you are not the surface owners of the property.  If there is acreage of any size involved, I would suggest that you contact a good oil and gas attorney.  You need a specialist in this field.  Do you know if the surface owners have filed anything against your family?  That might give an indication as to what the issue could be.  I have used KWGD in the past and was happy with their work but they have had some turnover and the attorney that I was most impressed with has moved on.  I have heard that others have used Emmens and Wolper and were happy with their work.  I wouldn't give up on this if I were you - mineral rights/royalties are too valuable.  Do whatever you can to retain/win back those rights.

I wish you luck,

Dave Cain

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