mineral.estate Request a review

Settle the oil and gas minerals in an estate.

For executors, trustees, heirs and the attorneys helping them. We're independent landmen. We list the mineral and royalty interests we can find in the records and the papers you send, work the county records where they lie, and work the operators toward paying the new owners, including money held in suspense.

Request an estate mineral review Or start by reading a check stub

Rather talk it through? Call (307) 263-8515

We're landmen, not attorneys. Any work starts only under a written engagement letter.

Schedule of oil, gas and mineral interests

Estate of a sample decedent

Sample
  1. Reeves Co., TX RI in Sec. 22, Blk 56, T&P 0.00390625 Paying
  2. Grady Co., OK RI in Sec. 14-5N-7W, pooled unit 0.00078125 Suspense
  3. Ward Co., TX RI in Sec. 18, Blk 34 0.00146484 Suspense
  4. Lea Co., NM ORRI in Sec. 9-21S-33E 0.00125000 Division order
  5. Karnes Co., TX Minerals, 40 ac in A-212, no lease none Unleased
  6. Upton Co., TX NPRI in Sec. 30, Blk 40, T&P 0.00048828 Unclaimed

Built from check stubs, 1099-MISC forms, county deed and tax records, and state unclaimed property searches.

A sample inventory. The counties are real places; the estate, the decimals and the statuses are made up to show the format. It's the first thing we build on a review.

Every line gets a status

An inventory earns its keep when each line says what's holding it up. These are the five statuses we use, what each one means for the family, and what we do about it.

Paying
Checks still come in the decedent's name, because the operator hasn't been told or hasn't acted yet.
What we do Send each operator the notice of death with the transfer papers it will ask for, and follow up on what the operator asks for. Checks made out to the decedent generally go into an estate account; ask an attorney or the bank.
Suspense
The operator knows the owner died and is holding the money until it sees who owns the interest now.
What we do Find out exactly what that operator's division order department wants (every company keeps its own list), put the packet together from the estate's papers, and follow up with the operator.
Division order
The operator has sent a division order: its statement of who it will pay, and at what decimal. It isn't a lease and shouldn't change the lease terms.
What we do Check the decimal against the deeds and the unit before anyone signs, and send the operator the math if it looks wrong. Then signatures and W-9s from each new owner.
Unleased
Minerals with no lease on them. No income today, but still property of the estate.
What we do Find out what the county needs to get the transfer on record anyway. When a lease offer comes, it goes to whoever the county records show as owner, and that should be the new owners, not the decedent.
Unclaimed
Money the operator couldn't pay and turned over to a state's unclaimed property office.
What we do Search unclaimed property records in the states where the decedent had minerals or lived, and pull together the proof of ownership the operators take, the same papers a claim to the state would need.

How an estate review goes

Probate, letters and any heirship suit are court work for an attorney. We handle the county records and the operators, and we work alongside the estate's attorney if it has one.

  1. You send what you have

    Check stubs, 1099-MISC forms (royalties are in box 2), operator letters, the will and any probate papers, old deeds, and Texas county tax statements, which list taxed mineral accounts by owner.

  2. We build the inventory

    One line per interest: county, legal description, operator, decimal and status. We fill the gaps from county deed records, appraisal district rolls and state unclaimed property searches.

  3. We list what each line needs

    The paper each county and each operator has asked for, and which parts call for an attorney or a court.

  4. We work the operators toward payment

    Transfer packets to the operators, division orders checked, suspense followed up, unclaimed property searched. You end with an updated inventory: each line we found, its new owners and their decimals.

Request an estate mineral review or call (307) 263-8515

How to read a royalty check stub

Operators put a lot on a stub and explain none of it. This sample has the parts that matter to an estate numbered. The operator, owner and figures are made up; the layout is typical.

Sample Operating Co.

Revenue statement

Owner no. 1
0048213
Owner
R. L. Sample, deceased
Statement date
08/25/2026
Sample revenue detail, two lines
Property 2 Prod. mo. 3 Int. 4 Decimal 5 Volume and price 8/8ths value 6 Owner share Tax 7 Deducts Net
Harlan 22 Unit 1H, oil 07/2026 RI 0.00292969 8,412 bbl at $68.40 $575,380.80 $1,685.69 $77.54 $0.00 $1,608.15
Harlan 22 Unit 1H, gas 07/2026 RI 0.00292969 21,630 mcf at $2.14 $46,288.20 $135.61 $10.17 $18.40 $107.04
Owner net
$1,715.19
Paid this statement
$0.00
Held in suspense 8
$1,715.19

SUSP DECD: owner deceased, awaiting transfer documents

Sample royalty check stub from a made-up operator, with eight numbered parts explained in the list that follows.
  1. Owner number. The operator's account for the decedent. Put it on every letter and packet; it's how the division order department finds the file.
  2. Property. The well or unit paying. One mineral interest can pay on many wells, so tie each property back to a line on the inventory.
  3. Production month. Stubs pay a month or two behind the oil and gas. The date of death splits the money: production before it is the estate's income, production after it follows the minerals. A CPA will want that split.
  4. Interest type. RI is royalty. OR or ORRI is an override. WI is a working interest, which shares costs and is a different job.
  5. Decimal. The decedent's share of the whole well's revenue, to eight places. This is the number to check against the deeds, and the number each new owner's share is carved from.
  6. 8/8ths value. The whole well's revenue for the month before anyone's share. Owner share is the 8/8ths value times the decimal.
  7. Tax and deducts. Severance tax goes to the state (in Texas, 4.6 percent of oil value and 7.5 percent of gas). Deducts are post-production costs; whether the lease allows them is a lease question.
  8. Suspense. Nothing was paid out. The code varies by company (SUSP, DECD, TITLE); the balance builds until the operator accepts the transfer papers.

How the minerals change hands

Minerals are real property. They pass by the papers recorded in the county where they lie, not the county where the decedent lived. Which papers depends on how the estate is set up. These are the common Texas routes; Oklahoma and New Mexico differ, and we note where.

A will, probated in Texas

On record in each county: the will and the order admitting it to probate, as copies from the probate clerk.

While an executor is acting, operators also ask for recent letters testamentary. If the executor deeds minerals out to beneficiaries, that deed goes on record too.

A will, no debts but mortgages, no executor

On record in each county: the will and the order admitting it as a muniment of title (Tex. Est. Code ch. 257). The order is the record proof of who owns the minerals; nobody serves as executor. The court can admit a will this way if it is satisfied the estate owes no unpaid debt except one secured by a lien on real estate, or finds for another reason that there is no necessity for administration.

Timing matters. A Texas will generally has to be offered for probate within four years of death.

No will, no probate

On record in each county: an affidavit of heirship, a sworn family history usually signed by someone who knew the family and takes nothing from the estate (form at Tex. Est. Code § 203.002).

Many operators accept one for smaller interests. After five years of record it's prima facie evidence of the facts in it (§ 203.001). Larger interests may need a court judgment declaring heirship. Some Oklahoma operators want a court order either way, so ask each one.

Probated in another state

Texas: record an authenticated copy of the will and the out-of-state order in each county (Tex. Est. Code ch. 503). Often no new Texas probate is needed.

Oklahoma: usually an ancillary probate in the district court of a county where the minerals are. New Mexico has its own ancillary process.

Held in a living trust

On record: proof of the trust and of the successor trustee, usually a certification of trust (Tex. Prop. Code § 114.086). If the decedent deeded the minerals into the trust while living, there's usually no probate for them.

Minerals still in the decedent's own name pass under the will first, even when the will pours everything into the trust.

Heirs not known yet

Then the family history comes first. Our sister site heir.land does heirship research: it finds the heirs and documents the family. This site picks up once you know who owns what.

General information from landmen, not legal advice. An attorney decides which route an estate takes.

Where the money goes while it waits

Suspended royalties aren't lost, but they don't wait forever. Here is the usual path, with Texas rules.

  1. At death

    Checks keep coming

    They're still made out to the decedent until the operator hears.

    Money is with: the family, in checks made out to the decedent

  2. Operator is told

    Suspense

    The operator holds the money. In Texas, money held because title is in question generally earns no interest while it sits (Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 91.402(b)).

    Money is with: the operator

  3. About three years, in Texas

    Unclaimed

    Royalties with no owner contact are presumed abandoned and reported to the Texas Comptroller (Tex. Prop. Code § 75.101). Oklahoma and New Mexico set their own periods.

    Money is with: the state

  4. Papers accepted

    Paid to the new owners

    Released by the operator once it accepts the transfer, or claimed from the state with the same proof.

    Money is with: the new owners

Request an estate mineral review or call (307) 263-8515

Decimal worksheet

Two checks worth doing before anyone signs a division order: does the operator's decimal match the deed math, and what should each beneficiary's decimal be? Equal shares only. Life estates, trusts and unequal wills need the actual papers. The numbers already in the boxes are an example; replace them with yours.

  1. 1
    NMA
  2. 2
    ac
  3. 3
  4. 4 Estate's decimal Line 1 divided by line 2, times line 3. 0.00292969
  5. 5
  6. 6 Line 4 against line 5 Enter a stub decimal to compare.
  7. 7
    people
  8. 8
    $
  9. 9 Each beneficiary's decimal Line 4 divided by line 7, to eight places. 0.00097656
  10. 10 Each beneficiary's share of suspense Money for production before death may belong to the estate first. $4,000.00
Beneficiary schedule one row per beneficiary
No.ShareNMADecimalSuspense
11/33.33330.00097656$4,000.00
21/33.33330.00097656$4,000.00
31/33.33330.00097656$4,000.00

Operators round to eight places, so the shares may not add back exactly to line 4. That's normal. This is arithmetic for planning, not an attorney's opinion on title, and it fits a leased mineral interest, not an NPRI or an ORRI.

Key to the abbreviations

The shorthand on stubs, division orders and our inventories, in plain words.

RIRoyalty interest
A share of production, free of drilling and operating costs, kept when the minerals were leased. The most common line on a family's stub.
ORRIOverriding royalty
A royalty carved out of the lease rather than the minerals. It ends when the lease ends.
NPRINon-participating royalty
A royalty with no right to sign leases or take bonus. Common in old family deeds.
NMANet mineral acres
The mineral acres owned, net of everyone else. Half the minerals under 20 acres is 10 NMA.
DecimalOwner decimal
An owner's share of a well's revenue, carried to eight places. The number on the stub and the division order. You may also see it called NRI, net revenue interest.
DODivision order
The operator's statement of whom it pays and at what decimal. It confirms an interest; it doesn't rewrite the lease (Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 91.402).
SUSPSuspense
Money an operator holds because it isn't sure whom to pay. Released once the ownership question is answered on paper.
LettersLetters testamentary
The probate court's document showing an executor is acting. Operators usually want a recent copy from the clerk.
MunimentMuniment of title
Texas probate that admits a will as the record proof of title, with no executor and no administration.
AOHAffidavit of heirship
A recorded, sworn family history used to show who inherited when there was no will or no probate.
AncillaryAncillary probate
A second probate, or a recorded filing, in the state where the minerals are when the main probate happened somewhere else.
§ 1014Step-up in basis
For inherited property, federal tax basis is generally the value at the date of death (IRC § 1014). Royalty for production before death may be treated differently; ask a CPA. A CPA uses it; it takes an appraisal.
Prima faciePrima facie evidence
Enough to prove the point unless someone offers proof against it.

Questions executors ask

The operator has a copy of the will. Why won't it pay?

A will isn't proof of who owns the minerals until it's probated, and a probate order from one state has to be on record in the county where the minerals lie. Operators pay on what the county records and their division order department accept, because paying the wrong person means paying twice.

Can the family skip probate?

Sometimes. In Texas an affidavit of heirship or a muniment of title does it for many families. Some operators want more for large interests, and some Oklahoma operators want a court order. That's a legal call for an attorney; we list what each operator and county has asked for.

The court wants an inventory. Can you help with the minerals?

In a Texas administration the executor files an inventory, appraisement and list of claims, usually within 90 days of qualifying (Tex. Est. Code § 309.051). Minerals are often the hardest lines on it. We can build the mineral lines; the filing is the executor's.

Why does the date-of-death value matter?

It's generally the new tax basis for the heirs (IRC § 1014), which matters if they sell later. That value takes an appraisal. The inventory, with decimals and recent check history, is what the appraiser works from. Talk it over with a CPA.

Do we need to travel to the counties?

Usually not. Most record searches and operator correspondence can be done remotely. Signatures go in front of a notary wherever you live.

Should the family sell the minerals?

That's a separate decision, and a better one made after title is settled, since settled title in the county records draws better offers. Get more than one offer, and ask each buyer whose side it's on.

Request an estate mineral review

Tell us about the estate and what you have in hand. There's no charge to send it.

  • A recent check stub or 1099-MISC from each operator
  • Any letter from an operator about the death or a suspense
  • The will, and the probate order or letters if there are any

Prefer the phone? Call (307) 263-8515

Don't attach documents here; copies can follow once you're in touch. Please don't put Social Security or account numbers in this form. We aren't attorneys: we don't give legal advice or appear in court, and we work alongside the estate's attorney if it has one. See our privacy notice for what happens to what you send.