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Permalink Reply by Sarah on August 16, 2008 at 18:10

Yeah, I meant to thank you Martin for sharing out of your recent experience of being an Executor. I am sure that was not fun. Glad to know in Texas the legal descriptions of property will be included in the inventory. Most of the minerals are in Oklahoma with the bulk of them being in Seminole county. I'll have to see what my lawyer says about that type of probating you mentioned that I should look in to regarding out of state property.
My sister (Executrix) did end up sending me a copy of the will. That is how I found out the will states there is not to be any compensation for the Executrix). Yes, I realize the estate pays for the probate, accountants, funeral, all that and a lot of times compensation for the Executor. I know this probably sticks in your crawl after being an Executor yourself recently, (don't mean to do that to ya or step on your toes)... I realize I am probably sounding greedy, but the will does state the Executor doesn't get paid. I found a helpful link here takling about it in the July 25the entry. http://texaslawyer.blogspot.com/2005_07_24_archive.html
My sister did not hire her personal assistant to do this. She has had this personal assistant on her payroll for years. So, I think that is why my father stated what he did in the will, knowing my sister would have someone to assist her get thru the process. Also the attorney is suppose to help as well.
I want to pay the assistant some money though to supplement whatever she earns from being a personal assitant.
Okay, I know this topic is getting old so I'll drop it. I wanted to clarify that point though. I know I look like the greed monster, but if you only knew how much has had to be paid out already!!!

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Permalink Reply by Martin on August 19, 2008 at 10:15

Not greed monster. Just wanting want your father left you. Seems fair and straight forward to me. Just go with the lawyer. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 3, 2008 at 6:11

PlEASE HELP! I know ya'll told me to get an attorney, and I need to do that, they are expensive though and I want some money to be left from this all.

My sister is now telling me that the properties outside of the state of Texas are not covered by the will. The will says my dad wanted the property to go to me. My sister says the ones out of state get split between all living heirs. If not, it will be expensive going thru probate and having to hire lawyers.

She says the estate can not afford to do this. Just to clarify Dion and Martin, none of these minerals are in LA. They are mostly in Oklahoma and a few in Kansas.
So said she will proceed with splitting the interests with all living heirs unless I have a major objection.

I KNOW this is going to be expensive to do an ancillary probate. I have hesistated to hire an attorney because of the expense of my attorney plus the ones I would need to get to go thru all those counties.

I asked my sister, isn't it the same expense to divide the minerals to all living heirs in the other states?

She just wrote back saying,... all assets are automatically divided between all living heirs, unless a will states otherwise.

Okay, I know you all have said, over and over, get a lawyer...I guess I need to find one in Oklahoma...most of the minerals are there in many different counties...the majority being in Seminole. How do I find a good lawyer in Seminole county? What type of attoney?

Maybe I should join N.A.R.O. and get a referal from them?
Martin do you know if it's true what my sister is saying about all the properties in other states not being covered by the will. The will says, the property goes to me.

Maybe I should ask my father's friend who was helping dad fill out the will while he was about to go home to heaven. started the will. He couldn't finish the will with dad, and had to hand it over to another attorney because he became a judge. He probaby has no time to help me with this and is more a friend of my sisters. I'll ask the guy whose signature is on the will too!

I could barely write this out becuase of my one year old coming over and banging on the computer, but I just had to finish...I am freaking out about all this.

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Permalink Reply by Marjorie Bull on September 3, 2008 at 6:56

Sarah, it sounds to me you are being "flim-flammed" by dear sister. My email is 7bull7@excite.com. I dealt with probate w/o an attorney. It can be done.
7bull7

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 3, 2008 at 10:21

Thank you so much Jim, Marjorie, and Jim Krow for responding to me with such helpful advice. I really appreciate the support.

(now that I've latched on to you like a leach sucking the very life blood out of you). ;) That's a bad joke...I'm using it for a little comic relief. I am so grateful for your help though.

I'm wondering...maybe my sister really IS just trying to get this job off her back and she's sick and tired of it. Maybe she's not wheeling and dealing or flim flamming me. She emailed me saying, it's a yucky job to her, she's wanting to wrap things up!!!!

Well, it's pretty yucky to me having to ask her questions. She gets back to me long after I've asked them. And this thing has dragged out so far for over a year and a half!

My husband says, maybe splitting the minerals would save us the money in the estate left to me.

Jim Krow you rightly mentioned... "

"Your sister is telling you that the Estate does not have the money to pay for perfecting your title to your minerals at the expense of the other beneficiaries under the will".

The thing is I am the only one recieving money and real estate property. So, thankfully I'm not holding anyone up or costing them a thing to perfect the titles. It's coming from my inheritance.

She keeps telling me the oil and gas properties aren't worth much. But, there are 27 undivided mineral intersts listed in Seminole county alone. These were listed in my great grandfather's will...that is if they wern't sold. I can't see my dad selling these off. Anyway, they could be worth money because there is shale there. (Woodville)

Again, thanks for listening to my "inheritance woes". I feel horrible even griping about this because it is such a blessing to even get anything. My father gave it to me because my sister is so very wealthy. They have built and own a lot of large estates in affluent areas.
And I'm glad for her. I always have been. I just don't feel like splitting my inheritance with her is all.
My father owed them 100k when he went home to Jesus.

Martin, Marjorie, Dion, Jim, Jim, and Jim, and anyone else willing to throw your 2 cents in and give advice...I had a thought. Since she is wanting to wrap this yucky job up. Why can't she close the Texas estate and let me do the leg work in the oil and gas properties in other states. I read that an executor/exceutrix can step down from the task if they do not have the time. I live in Missouri now, I can drive to Oklahoma and Kansas and appear in court to do the probate. Especially since Marjorie went thru probate without an attorney. Does this make sense to anyone? Sorry to be SO long winded.

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Permalink Reply by Martin on September 3, 2008 at 13:09

Your sister is flim flaming you. Lawyers are not as expensive as you think. Remember, the will I as executor for was probated in Texas. It included property in Louisiana. The Texas will did control the disposition of the louisiana property. Call the Harris county bar association and ask for a lawyer reference. Tell them your cost concerns. You may end up with a neophyte. But it is better than nothing.

Back in the day, I took a Business law course taught by a practicing lawyer. The one piece of advice I took away from his lectures was " Get a lawyer if you're negotiating anything of value. Your lawyer may be drunk, passed out under the table, but the mere fact you have a lawyer present at the negotiations will put the other parties on notice. Remember, a lawyer is nothing but a culturally acceptable substitute for a hired gun." A couple of hundred dollars spent on a lawyer is well worth the effort.
Check with the attorney who completed the will and hopefully does not know your sister.

Customarily, the first meeting with a lawyer is free. You tell him your problem, he/she tells you what they can do to help you. And the cost to you. Ask if he knows anyone else in the case -- your sister, her assistant, other relatives and siblings. He/She is ethically required to answer this question. Ask the lawyer for the cost of several different levels of help. "Take it out of my hands please." to "What are my rights in this case?" The last will be minimal and maybe partly hypothetical unless you have a copy of the will to give him. You may be able to do a lot of foot work on the data gathering.... getting a copy of the will from the clerk of the court, etc. The lawyer can tell you who to see and what to ask for. Beware a contingency fee. i would go for a flat hourly rate plus reasonable costs.

Get a lawyer. The mere fact that you have a lawyer may cause your sister quit trying to screw you out of your property. Without a lawyer, you are a blind man who's brought a knife to a gun fight. As for an out of state attorney, a Texas attorney could help you there. Alternatively, you could call the the county bar associations for the counties where the property rights are located and ask for references for lawyers with adjunct probate experience.

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Permalink Reply by Martin on September 3, 2008 at 13:24

I do not know if it is the duty of the Texas executor to initiate out of state probate proceedings. This may be why your sister seems reluctant to do this. A probate lawyer can tell you what costs the estate must bear to legally distribute the property inventory. Your sister may have no choice under law but to use the estate resources to see to a proper closure.

What would you do if you decide to divide the mineral rights amongst all the heirs? Do you have any idea of the current value of any of these rights? IF they are divided equally, how is equal defined? Current value? A visit to a Texas lawyer and some telephone calls to Kanas and Oklahoma might give you a better idea of the costs you are likely to incur. Two, once you have the actual location of the rights you should be able to find out if there is any oil, gas, or other mineral extraction activity in the area, and contact the companies that are involved. They might be able to put you on the path to evaluating your rights holdings.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 4, 2008 at 5:11

Martin I wanted to thank you here too. I appreciate the sound savy advice.
I feel like I have a better road map to go by now. If she will complete and close the Texas end of things, I'm probably going to ask her soon if she wants to step down as Executrix since she wants to wrap things up. (as she said, it's a yucky job). I should be able to recieve my inheritance at that point. BTW, I am sorry for your loss. If I understand correctly, you were Executor and sole heir. My sympathies and condolences are with you.

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Permalink Reply by Martin on September 4, 2008 at 10:45

Sarah --
Ask your sister what are the costs for the out-of-state probate process. Dollars to doughnuts she doesn't have a solid figure. Get in contact with an Oklahoma lawyer and ask what the total cost of an adjunct probate proceeding is in that state. Lawyer fees and court fees. My experience was $1800.00 total for Louisiana.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 4, 2008 at 12:21

Wow, 18,000.00 is not bad at all. Okay, will call an Oklahoma lawyer to find out the cost of an adjunct probate proceeding is.

Thanks for this info Martin. I have been so sick about all this. "It's only money". But money can be so freeing when you've been in heap big debt.

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Permalink Reply by Martin on September 6, 2008 at 10:24

Sarah -- that's $1800.00 not $18,000.00.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 6, 2008 at 14:12

oops...that was a typo. I knew you meant 18 hundred. :)
Thanks for wanting to clarify that for me and thanks for telling me what your cost was.

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