How can people most easily confirm whether they own the mineral rights to their property?
A. One problem that affects mineral owners is proving they own the rights to their minerals. Surface owners may think they own the mineral rights beneath the land they purchased, but many times when people sell the surface, they retain the mineral rights or a portion of them. If you don’t know whether you own the mineral rights beneath your property, you may want to hire a landman to investigate for you or go to the county courthouse yourself and search the property records. When purchasing property, buyers may want their realtors to inquire whether the minerals are being conveyed, in addition to the surface. However, often the seller does not know whether he or she even owns the mineral rights. Landmen who approach you to lease your mineral rights have done a bit of background research about the current owner. However, even if you are approached, you may have to verify your ownership of the mineral rights or the lease could be nullified. Q. In the Barnett Shale play in particular, whe
