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Permalink Reply by Max on January 9, 2013 at 5:55

Mariha,

You have taken the first step of many steps you'll have to take.  First of all, you will not find the answer you're looking for on this web site or, on any other web site. 

You will have to research the records of the parish/county where the land is located.  The records are kept at the courthouse and anybody can go there and search.  A successful search will depend on how much information you already have in your possession, but all you need is a name.  Any other documents/tax stubs can add useful information like succession #'s, names of other heirs, and mineral records.  If you know the property's description and who owned it before the 14 heirs took possession, your search will be easier.  The biggest step is getting started.

Having an attorney to do this work would be great, but if you can't afford an attorney, you'll have to learn the ropes to find the information you need.  That doesn't mean that an attorney will not have to be used somewhere along the way, but if you provided organized records you could save $$$$.  Attorneys, just like tax preparers, don't like shoe box's used as filing cabinets, so organization is a must.

The folks at the courthouse will help you get stated, but don't rely on them to hold your hand.  If they provide their time to help you, respect that time and don't abuse it.  You should be able to use a computer and if you don't know how to operate one, don't even begin this task, find someone who will go with you and help.

After you have the correct documents, you may now begin to answer your question.  Many things can play into your outcome, and finding out how many acres you own may not answer your underling question, "Mineral Interest" of those acres.

You may own the surface, but not the minerals.  You may own just an % of the minerals under your acreage.  You could find a usufruct still in force on the property that could limit your share of any minerals.  There are many things out there that makes each property unique and no one can answer your question until the research is done.  The last thing to do (or first) is ask the other heirs and see if they will provide documents or information.

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Permalink Reply by Dion Warr, CPL on January 9, 2013 at 7:26

Mariha:

 

Some of the questions you want to gather information to answer in order to start your quest:

 

Family tree - Matriarch / Patriarch (presumably who originally purchased the property by themselves or inherited the property when it entered "the family" whose heirs now purportedly own the property.  Genealogical data can help, but should be verified and/or corroborated in the courthouse records as well.  Companies are loathe to rely on church records and family bibles; they generally want Deeds, Sales, Exchanges, Donations, Partitions and Judgment(s) of Possession and/or Affidavits of Death and Heirship which spell out who is entitled to what in what share as title vest from one owner to the next, or one generation to the next.  But the genealogy can be key particularly when there is a gap in the title - if someone "disappears", you will at least know who the next person to look for *should* be.

Acquisition(s) of the property - this should be on file in the courthouse; you should obtain everything that you can find filed of record.  Also connects with the above, but how the interest(s) were acquired make a difference, particularly if you do find in your research that there are "holes" in the title (where deeds or probate / succession records do not provide a complete chain of title that links the prior owners to the current owners).  Wills admitted to probate and/or filed of record are important, but one must also examine such documentation in the context of the laws of descent and distribution (or laws of succession) of each state.  Sometimes, in the absence of any record title or probate, these laws are all one has to determine what the ownership of the property should be (one of the reasons that we look to and rely on title attorneys is because of their knowledge and skill in applying the law and legal principles pertinent to this section of the law in the conext of these situations)

One thing that many lay persons / family members / heirs commonly mess up is with the concept and application of sales and acquisitions of one family member's interest by another family member without taking into acount the conditions and/or consideration of the conveyance and the marital status of the acquiring family member(s).  In community property states, unless otherwise specified, if the interest is obtained by a person who is married for real and substantial consideration (e.g., not a donation or by inheritance), if there is no declaration of separate property, the spouse of the family member may have acquired interest in the property as well (even if "everyone" considers it "family property).  This commonly occurs when one (or some) of the heirs start trying to buy other heirs out or attempt to consolidate their interest, but can also occur during partitions of "family property" if steps are not taken or provisions are made within the documents to preserve the separate property status of the co-owners (can't tell you how many times that I've dealt with "family property" that ends up being owned by family members with a certain portion being "separate property" and another portion having to be classified as "community property" owned by a family member and their spouse - it can sometimes make for real fun when there's a divorce)

As much as you can, set aside notions of "what's fair" versus "what's equal" versus "what's right" - all that matters is what is determine to be "fact" and "what's legal".  Disputes as to ownership of interest amongst co-owners that devolve into arguments about "why does the only child of the only child of one child get so much more than the fifth child of the fifth child of another child" and what heirs should "count" or not "count" end up becoming immaterial in the eyes of the law or anyone seeking to acquire a lease, or a timber deed, or a right-of-way - they must make every reasonable attempt to ascertain the legal ownership of the property and pay accordingly based upon the proportionate share of each co-owner's ownership.  If someone that has no children of their own leaves a will leaving their interest to the stepnephew that no one likes or as seen before and that is admitted into the records and judged to be legally valid, one can fight and swear and shake their fist, but unless reversed by a court of law, third parties are going to look at him as an "heir", like it or not.

 

Hopefully, nothing in your situation ends up being that contentious - my point here is to attempt to evaluate this properly, you have to "check your personal feelings at the door", and espouse to research the records  diligently and impartially, and be able to present same to third parties and/or legal counsel at face value.

 

 Good luck in your search.

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Permalink Reply by robert minton on January 11, 2013 at 15:46

And, discard all beauty-shop/barber-shop/domino-hall law that you have received, either voluntarily or unsolicited! Pray a lot!

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Permalink Reply by adubu on January 9, 2013 at 16:50

Mariha-- if you have no ideal how to run Title and look back through all the deeds on record, last Wills , etc of who own the land and minerals and how the land was divided up thru each sell or inheritance the best way would be to hire a landsman to go to the court house and run the Title for your group of 14 heirs and split the cost by the 14 heirs. Landsman just as knowledgeable as attorney to run Title and less cost. There should be a lot of landsman looking for work since leasing activity is down in area. Maybe visit with Skip on this site for suggestion of good landsman to contact

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on January 9, 2013 at 17:00

I heard that about 100 landmen lost their jobs around Shreveport in the past couple of days. May decrease costs of getting title runs but I doubt the attorneys will past any reductions in price along to the lessor.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on January 9, 2013 at 18:25

Is property in Texas or Louisiana

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Permalink Reply by Max on January 10, 2013 at 3:53

from past post:

SABINE PARISH LOUISIANA SECTION 31 TOWNSHIP 9 NORTH RANGE 13 WEST

Mariha, from past post;

Signed a lease in 2010?

Producing well/2012

Sounds like you are a undivided owner of some property, how much would depend on several things.  If you're receiving payment from an producing well, I would assume there are some documents in your possession that defines how many mineral shares you own. 

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