Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas
oil well 'inheritance'
My mother inherited shares of a couple of producing oil wells before she died, they were and still are generating monthly royalty checks. When she died, there was no will in place and to my knowledge nothing offical was done regarding a will or probate or an estate etc. My dad remarried shortly after and for the last ten years they have been cashing monthly checks made out to my mother's estate. My dad now has advanced cancer and has informed us that once he dies his current wife is to continue to recieve the oil royalties 'as long as she needs it'. This raises many questions for me? First, is it ok for them to cash checks made out to my mothers estate? What should have been done with the oil 'stuff' when my mother died? What should be done now before my dad dies? What claim do me and my 2 sisters have to the oil wells and royalties? I have no confidence whatsoever that when his current wife dies her kids will just start frowaring those checks to us...still in the name of my mothers estate. Seems to me that me and my sisters need to step in at the point of my fathers death or sooner and make legal claim to the inheritance our mother wanted us to have. Thank you for your thots.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: oil well 'inheritance'
If this was your mother's inheritance, it should have passed to you, not your father, on her death. You should ask your father to cooperate in getting the oil companies to start paying you. If your father, or his wife, won't cooperate, you can contact the oil companies paying the royalties directly. They will suspend payment to anyone until they receive guidance from a court on who to pay. You will have to open a probate proceeding to establish your and your sisters' rights to the royalties.
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