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 mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 2:01pm

do you really believe that money would be put in escrow?

Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on January 16, 2013 at 4:09am

It seems very odd to me that Chesapeake didn't discover this reservation at the time of leasing, and disclose it to Mike then. Or maybe they did and he doesn't remember?

Permalink Reply by Golddigger on January 16, 2013 at 4:59am

The gas company (Land man) will negotiate a lease with whom they believe to be the OGM rights owner. Then they (gas company title searchers) will do a complete title search (back to 150-160 years) to verify ownership before issuing any bonus money. At that point I am assuming he found out he only owns 50% of the rights, not when he initially signed the lease.

Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on January 16, 2013 at 6:06am

His post is a little hard to understand, but it seems to me he is saying he was paid the bonus on 18 acres, and he didn't find out about the 50% until royalties are about to be paid. He leased 3 years ago, and is finding out about this now, unless I am misunderstanding his post.

"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"

0i7okn54zwbdoPermalink Reply by 0i7okn54zwbdo on January 16, 2013 at 7:03am

He's being offered $5,000/acre to sell his mineral rights, so the lease is not germane to the story. 

Permalink Reply by mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 2:07pm

what?

Permalink Reply by mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 1:37pm

you got it right oliver  thanks

Permalink Reply by mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 1:36pm

no they did  not chase down heirs.my lease is for 18 acres i own 18 acres. the well is drilled on leased land. the land is owned by my brother.it is the only reason i know i am in a unit.chk has not told me anything

Permalink Reply by Janice L. Hancharick on January 16, 2013 at 8:25am

Fang and Oliver have given you exceptional advice. Another tidbit of info you may find useful ... PA only. Go to the courthouse in the county where the lady's residence was @ the time of her death.  Another office holding public info is the Orphan's Court Record Office.  In Potter and McKean, this is another "resting place" for wills ... for over 100 yrs.!  You may find the rights not mentioned, because her husband? didn't give them to her OR he did -- so she didn't mention it because it was already in the public records!  Surprises in wills often exist.

As for researching done by gas/oil companies, you can't count on it always being accurate. Firsthand experience has taught me that.  Talk with some old-timers, check out records @ County Historical Soc'y. Eventually Quiet Title will probably be your best bet.

Permalink Reply by mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 1:27pm

yes thanks for all the reply's i won't be the only one to have this problem.this lady had 70 acres.so there is 26 acres near or next to me in the same boat.thanks janice

Permalink Reply by Lisa McManus on January 16, 2013 at 1:39pm

Mike, this is not at all unusual. When a person buys property for residential (or agricultural) purposes, a search is almost never performed as to the oil, gas and mineral rights. Virtually all abstracts and title policies specifically state that no assurances are given with regard to the title to OGMs. Until the recent development of the Marcellus Shale, most attorneys didn't even mention that to the buyer because buyers traditionally have only been interested in the house/farm/etc. The only way to get the entire interest in the OGMs is to buy it or to develop it (meaning to drill) for a period of in excess of 21 years to obtain adverse possession. Don't listen to any attorney who tells you that you can just quiet title to the property and get ownership - many attorneys have quieted title to OGMs and have not given proper notice to the real owners of the rights, so any court order obtained by default judgment is not worth the paper it is written on. Chesapeake has seen this happen plenty of times. Usually what ends up happening is that you get your bonus and royalties on the 1/2 that you do own (many times the bonus is paid up front, and the lease says that you'll pay it back in proportion to any fraction of the property that you don't own, once a title search is performed - many operators don't make you pay the extra back, but they will only pay you the royalties on the % that you own), and the other 1/2 is held in escrow/suspense for the other owners, if the operator can't find them. The proper way to handle it is to file a Dormant Oil and Gas Act petition to hold the interest for the missing owners in trust - long story on that one. Bottom line is - you bought the property with a reservation of 1/2 of the OGMs - the deceased owner's heirs now own that share. It is unlikely that there is anything that you can do to obtain that 1/2 that wouldn't be very costly to you. The  legislation that was referenced in an earlier comment is not yet the law, but it would significantly change your position if it indeed passes. 

Permalink Reply by mike matje on January 16, 2013 at 2:06pm

thanks Lisa this just doesn't seem right after 50 plus years

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