how to change a deed when you inherit property

04-19-2015, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post

I inherited from my wife and am executor of her estate. I have worked with an attorney to probate my wife's estate, it is still open. I recalled hearing something about these mineral rights some years ago, but it took me a while to find anything about it in my wife's files. I did finally find it recently and was wondering if there was any point in going back to the attorney here in Texas, or if I should go work directly with one in Oklahoma where the land is. I guess I need to discuss it with the probate attorney.

I'm sorry to hear that that is your situation. Yes, discuss it with the probate attorney first. They may be able to handle it, or they may need to pass it off to a real estate attorney in Oklahoma. Some states have particular recording requirements but they are usually rather simple. (For example, for a document to be recorded in Michigan, there are minimum margin and font size requirements--nothing major.) As long as your attorney knows the particular type of Deed to use, and has the correct legal description, dealing with it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

04-19-2015, 03:54 PM

First a title check at the county recorders office where the property is located should be made, to make sure the person you are inheriting it from actually owns the mineral rights. If they do, it will be a public record at the recorders office. An attorney can do this, or a title insurance company can check for you for a small fee.

If the person you inherited the mineral rights from, does not show up as the owner of the mineral rights, you would know who actually owns the mineral rights according to the official records. If the mineral rights do not show up on the title search, then is the time to get an attorney to search and find out why they are not. Sometimes the mineral rights may have been sold years ago, possibly before your wife ever had any claim on them, and the deed for the mineral rights had not been filed.

When the executor issues you a deed for the mineral rights from the estate, check with the county recorders office where the property is located for information on filing the deed for the mineral rights.

If it has been properly prepared, it will in most states just require filing the deed for recording, and paying a small filing fee.

If it is not properly prepared, you will be told that a new properly prepared deed will need to be prepared.

The first step, requires the title search for the deed at the courthouse to find if your wife is the official owner of record. If she is, it is easy to file the deed from her to the heir which is probably you. If she is not, then it can get more complicated.

04-21-2015, 04:17 PM

I appreciate all the help people offered here. So I'm sharing the advice I received from my probate attorney.

1. Texas - It is not necessary to do anything about the Oklahoma mineral rights in Texas, even though all of the other probate actions have been here in Texas, because Texas probate laws do not apply to property that is outside of the state.

2. Mineral Rights - my probate attorney discussed this with an Oklahoma attorney who is very experienced with property and mineral right deeds in Oklahoma. He has many other clients with similar mineral rights deed situations in OK. His advice was that we not do anything about probating and updating this mineral rights deed currently because it is non-producing land. It has never been drilled on and is a mile or two from the closest oil producing wells in the area. It could cost $4-5K to go through that probate process in OK, they do not have an abbreviated process like Texas does. There is no statute of limitations that press us to do anything about it now, so he recommends waiting until there is actually a need to do so, such as an oil company showing interest in drilling there or buying the rights. So I guess I will just add it into my will, and legal papers notes about this decision for future reference.

Thanks again...