Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Wyoming

Re: Royalty Interest MUST be probated??

Real estate interests, which may include mineral rights, usually require ancilliary probate proceedings in the State where the property is located. This is merely having the NJ probate documents recorded in the State/County where the land is located, to have you approved as Executor/Administrator to handle the affairs in that State, and to transfer the property rights to the beneficiary of the estate. This can be done yourself by making many phone calls and paying the necessary fees (copies of NJ documents are sent to other state and a simple probate occurs there). Since this can be time consuming for a lay person, you should probably retain local attorneys to assist you. The local bar associations can provide recommendations.

Re: Royalty Interest MUST be probated??

Generally speaking, real estate owned by a decedent in another state requires an ancillary probate proceeding in that state to transfer title to the beneficiaries. I utilize the services of local attorney(s) in the state where the property is located to accomplish this.

Many midwestern states seperately convey and record mineral rights such as oil and gas by way of a deed. In those instances you will need the services of a local attorney to transfer title. I am doing this right now with an interest in Nevada. The attorney there has charged a fee of $500.00 which I thought was very reasonable.

Many of these "investments" were sold years ago and were very speculative. You are fortunate to have one that actually pays royalties.

Re: Royalty Interest MUST be probated??

The mineral interest issue is fairly complicated, and you should be very careful. There are oil companies who will pay below market Overriding Royalties to people who are not familiar with the market.

With respect to the probate issue, the process in Wyoming that is used is all a function of value. The lower the value, the simpler the probate.

You cannot pass ownership in Wyoming to a probate estate without following one of the statutorily established procedures. Usually, these actions cost about $1500 to $1700 to be completed.

Depending on the stituation, there are some other lower cost alternatives.