Monday, June 25, 2012

did the gas rights move with the deed?

Hello,

I follow your blog and appreciate you helping people on the web. I have a concern when it comes to my dads property and oil rights. MY grand parents left the property and gas rights to my dad back in 1981 in a will. The deed was never transferred or recorded until 2000. The estate attorney (whom i wont mention) copied and passed all legal descriptions and didn't transfer the gas rights to the property. They are still in the estates name in which my dad was the administer and transferred to my dad in a will. 

How can we fix this issue. we have 2 storage wells on the property and dominions wont send checks anymore in the estate name and need my dad to have a deed with gas rights. I was considering a correction deed? just to give gas rights, the family is all willing to sign off on this, its just really tough as i dont know where to go.?

I know a title search is pretty expensive and we dont have alot of money at this point. Any helpful info would be great.

Thanks.
H


Hi, H:

In PA if the gas rights are owned by the seller and not mentioned in a deed, they move with the property.  Our deeds convey everything the seller owns unless they expressly reserve something.  I would be surprised if it doesn't work in the same way where you live.  If that is the case, then it would just be a matter of changing the name on the gas lease to the new owner, your father.  Try contacting the gas folks and explaining this.  See if they will simply change the name.  If the person you are speaking with isn't sure, suggest they confer with their legal counsel.  If that doesn't work, then get an attorney who specializes in real estate to look at your deed and write a letter to the gas folks.  I don't think this will be hard to resolve so I don't think you should have to pay for large legal fees.  

Don't be too hard on the estate attorney as simply taking the legal descriptions from prior deeds is the norm.  ;)

Good luck.
Diane

No comments: