what if the will does not mention mineral rights. back in the day nobody ever thought about that when making a will ?

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carp one of my family members passed away.she was a leased mineral owner.her will states everything to be sold and split 4 ways.her will was made out in 2000 that was before the gas boom in the area so minerals and royalties were not mentioned in the will I am wondering how to handle this with the gas company?

This is an interesting question.

What if you are already in production , you pass away, leaving everything to whom ever. How would the inheritance tax be determined ?

William you are so right these things were never consider before, but it has all changed now.

Also I inherited a lease before production started. It was written into the lease that I had to abide by what was in the lease when I inherited it.

It is my understanding that even if the mineral interests were not specifically mentioned in the will, whatever heirs were mentioned in the will either split the interests according to the will or evenly.  If there is no will, then intestacy laws apply.

That’s what I was thinking and if we provide the gas company with names address and social security numbers they will send royalties to each beneficiary correct?

Check with the company. They probably need a copy of the will. Also call the county where the property is, to the county clerk and ask about the procedure for changing taxes. 

I agree with Nancy, call the company and find out exactly what they need.  The minerals I inherited were not producing when I inherited them so I doubt the process is the same. 

I am in PA and we don't pay taxes on non producing minerals so I know nothing about taxation.

Good luck!

My comment about the county applies to WV. Not sure about other states but it is a good idea to ask just in case.

this is in brooke county wv  

William,

As GH has stated, mineral rights are considered real property. This is true in SOME states and it is true in West Virginia and Ohio to name a few.   So if you do inherit the mineral rights make sure you hire an OIL & GAS Attorney to get the rights "Deeded" to you. Pay someone who knows what they are doing.  Unfortunately I used my mother Trust Estate Attorney to handle this before I knew anything about oil and gas and he just thought it needed an  "Assignment Transfer" which was not sufficient. I did not find this out until a few years later and had to get it redone.

Mineral rights are real property.  That is to say, if a certain section of the will states "all my estate, real and personal," or "my real estate," etc., then that would include mineral rights.  If real property is not specifically addressed, there is usually a residuary clause, which will state that all property not specifically addressed in the will is to pass a certain way.  It is almost always caught by that if it not specifically addressed.  If it is not addressed specifically and there is no residuary clause, it passes via intestacy statutes.  Not an attorney, but this has been my experience in PA and WV.

Also, in WV, sometimes "royalties" can mean an interest in the actual minerals, rather than just a royalty interest.  

If there is no mention in the will, the rights automatically go to the heirs, if there are multiple heirs,it's split equally among them. I'm not an attorney,but I did stay at a holiday inn express. No, actually this happened when my dad died.

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