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Royalty Clerk

Inherited oil and gas minerals in Texas

How do you prove who inherited the minerals?

An operator will not change who it pays until it has a paper that names the heirs. Which paper depends on whether there is a will and what has happened to it. Pick your situation to see the papers, the law and the next step.
Find my situationHow to record one

Each operator says what it accepts.

AFFIDAVIT OF FACTS CONCERNING THE IDENTITY OF HEIRS

  1. The person who died: name, born date, died date.
  2. Every marriage, with the dates it began and ended.
  3. Every child, living or not, and who their children are.
  4. Sworn by a person with personal knowledge, before a notary.

Record it in every county where the minerals are.

The shape only. The statute’s own form is in Estates Code section 203.002.

Start here

Which papers fit your family?

Six situations. Each shows what it means, what to do, the papers operators usually ask for and the sections of the Estates Code behind it.

Someone died owning minerals. Which is true?

Situation 1 of 6

There is a will, and a court admitted it

What it means

The order admitting the will is the paper that shows who inherits under it. If the will named an executor, the court also issues letters testamentary, which show who may act for the estate. No affidavit of heirship is needed to show the heirs.

What to do

  1. Order certified copies of the order and of the letters.
  2. Record a certified copy in each county where the minerals are.
  3. Send each operator a copy, with a W-9 and a signed division order for each person who inherits.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • Certified copy of the order admitting the will
  • Letters testamentary, if there is an executor
  • Certified death certificate
  • A W-9 and a division order for each beneficiary

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code §256.003

Situation 2 of 6

There is a will, and no court has admitted it

What it means

A will has to be admitted by a court to pass title. Section 256.003(a) says a will may not be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary of the testator’s death unless the applicant was not in default in failing to present it by then. A will can be probated as a muniment of title, which proves who owns property without opening an administration.

What to do

  1. Find the will, and the original if there is one.
  2. Count four years from the date of death.
  3. File the will with the probate court. The court admits it by an order.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • The will, the original if it can be found
  • Certified death certificate
  • After the order: a certified copy of it, and letters if there is an executor

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code §256.003Est. Code §257.001

Situation 3 of 6

There is no will

What it means

Two documents show who the heirs are. An affidavit of heirship is signed by someone with personal knowledge of the family, sworn before a notary and recorded in the county records. A judgment of heirship is a court’s determination of the heirs and their shares. The state’s intestacy rules, in Estates Code chapter 201, decide who the heirs are and what each gets. The table below sets the two documents side by side.

What to do

  1. Decide which paper the family needs: the table below compares them.
  2. For an affidavit, follow the recording steps on this page.
  3. For a judgment, a proceeding is brought in court, and may be brought at any time after the death.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • Certified death certificate
  • A recorded affidavit of heirship, or a judgment of heirship
  • A list of the heirs and each one's share
  • A W-9 and a division order for each heir

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code §203.001Est. Code ch. 202Est. Code ch. 201

Situation 4 of 6

A court has already declared the heirs

What it means

The judgment names the heirs and only heirs, and their shares. It is what a payor or title company asks for when it wants a court's answer.

What to do

  1. Order certified copies of the judgment.
  2. Record a certified copy in each county where the minerals are.
  3. Send each operator a copy, with a W-9 and a signed division order for each heir.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • Certified copy of the judgment of heirship
  • Certified death certificate
  • A W-9 and a division order for each heir

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code ch. 202

Situation 5 of 6

It has been more than four years and a will turns up

What it means

A will may not be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary unless the applicant was not in default in failing to present it by then. A person who buys property from the heirs for value, in good faith and without knowing of the will, after the fourth anniversary, has good title to the interest the heirs would have had without it.

What to do

  1. Write down when and how the will was found, and by whom.
  2. Ask whether the interest has been sold or leased since the death.
  3. Bring the will and those dates to the court that handles probate in the county.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • The will, the original if it can be found
  • Certified death certificate
  • A record of when the will was found

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code §256.003

Situation 6 of 6

Someone may be left off the family list

What it means

A buyer in good faith who relies on an affidavit that leaves out a child not yet legally established as a child gets good title to the interest that child would have had. The heirs still owe that child the proceeds of the sale. A court determination names all the heirs and their shares, and that is the reason people choose it when the family list is uncertain.

What to do

  1. List every child, including any whose parentage is not yet legally established.
  2. List every marriage, with dates.
  3. If the list is uncertain, a court determination of heirship (Estates Code chapter 202) names the heirs and their shares.

Papers operators usually ask for

  • The list of children and marriages
  • Certified death certificate
  • A judgment of heirship, if the family goes to court

Each operator sets its own list. Write and ask for it.

The law:Est. Code ch. 201Est. Code ch. 202

No will

An affidavit or a court judgment

When there is no will, two documents can show who the heirs are. They do different jobs.
An affidavit of heirship compared with a judgment of heirship, row by row
QuestionAffidavit of heirshipJudgment of heirship
Who makes itA person with personal knowledge of the family swears to it before a notary.A judge signs it after a proceeding.
The lawEstates Code chapter 203 Est. Code §203.001Estates Code chapter 202 Est. Code ch. 202
What it doesA recorded statement of facts about family history, marriages and the heirs. After five years of record it is received as prima facie evidence of them.Determines the persons who are the decedent's heirs and only heirs, and their respective shares.
If it has an errorAnyone interested in a proceeding where it is offered may prove the true facts.It is a court order.
WhenSigned and recorded at any time. Its evidentiary effect comes after five years in the deed records of a county where the property is, or where the decedent lived.A proceeding may be brought at any time after the death.
Who may start itThe person who knows the facts.The personal representative, a creditor or an owner of part of the estate, a guardian, someone seeking appointment as independent administrator, or a trustee.
CostThe county clerk sets the recording fee.Court costs, and usually a lawyer's fee.

Who inherits is a separate question

Chapter 201 of the Estates Code sets who the heirs are and what each takes, and it differs with a spouse, with children and with separate or community property. This page does not work out shares. Est. Code ch. 201

Step by step

Signing and recording an affidavit

Six steps, from the statute’s form to the copy you send an operator. A step marked in practice is what clerks and payors ask for, and each sets its own rules.

  1. Step 1: Start from the statute's form

    Estates Code 203.002 gives a form, "Affidavit of facts concerning the identity of heirs". The person who signs has personal knowledge of the family: the dates the person died and was married, and who the children are. Someone who knew the family well, and who is not an heir, is the usual choice. Est. Code §203.001

  2. Step 2: Sign it before a notary

    A recorded statement about family history counts as prima facie evidence only if it is in a sworn or acknowledged affidavit (203.001). Sign it in front of a notary public, with the signer's identification. Est. Code §203.001

  3. Step 3: Record it in each county where the property liesin practice

    Take the original to the county clerk and ask to record it in the real property (deed) records. Ask the clerk what page format it requires and what the recording fee is: both are set by the clerk, and they differ from county to county. Record it in every county where the property lies. Est. Code §203.001

  4. Step 4: Keep the recording information and send copiesin practice

    The clerk returns the original with a stamp that gives the recording date and the volume and page, or the instrument number. Keep it with the estate's papers and send a copy to each operator with the packet.

  5. Step 5: Know what five years does

    After the affidavit has been of record for five years or more in the deed records of a county where the property is, or where the decedent lived, the statement is received as prima facie evidence of the facts in it (203.001). If it has an error, anyone interested in a proceeding where it is offered may prove the true facts. Est. Code §203.001

  6. Step 6: Do not leave anyone out

    A good-faith buyer who relies on an affidavit that leaves out a child who was not yet legally established as a child gets good title to the interest that person would have received, but the heirs stay liable to the child who was left out for the proceeds of a sale (201.053). A court determination of heirship (chapter 202) names the heirs and their shares. Est. Code ch. 201 Est. Code ch. 202

SEND EACH OPERATOR

  • A certified copy of the death certificate
  • The papers that name the heirs
  • A list of the heirs and each one's share
  • A signed Form W-9 for each person who is to be paid
  • A division order or transfer order for each heir, on the operator's form
  • Where each person wants to be paid

Ask each one for its own list.

With the Estate report

The heirship kit

The Estate mineral report finds every interest under a name and, for each operator that pays on them, writes the papers below.

1

The recording steps

The steps above, with the counties where the property lies filled in from the report.

2

One packet for each operator

The interests it pays on, the heirs the family entered, and the documents to send it, as a PDF.

3

A letter for each operator

Asks what it held since the death and the interest on it, and is also the written notice section 91.404 asks for.

Interest on what an operator held is Natural Resources Code section 91.403. It does not run while payment is withheld for a reason in section 91.402(b), and it can run from the day that reason ends. NRC §91.403 NRC §91.402

Related

FAQ

Questions people ask

What is an affidavit of heirship?

A sworn statement, signed by someone with personal knowledge of the family, that says when the owner died, whom the owner married and who the children are. Texas gives a form for it in Estates Code section 203.002, called an affidavit of facts concerning the identity of heirs. Recorded with the county clerk, it is a public record of who the heirs are.

Will an operator pay royalties on an affidavit of heirship?

Each payor decides what it accepts. The statute makes a recorded affidavit prima facie evidence of the facts in it once it has been of record for five years in the deed records of a county where the property is, or where the decedent lived (section 203.001). Payors and title companies often ask for more, or for a court judgment. Write to the operator and ask which papers it takes.

When an operator holds the money for papers

How do I record an affidavit of heirship in Texas?

Sign it before a notary, take the original to the county clerk and ask to record it in the real property (deed) records. Ask the clerk what page format it requires and what the recording fee is, since both are set by the clerk. Keep the recording information the clerk returns, and send a copy to each operator.

Do I record it in every county?

Record it in every county where the property lies. The five-year rule in section 203.001 looks at the deed records of a county where the property is located or where the decedent was domiciled, so a county that has had it of record for five years counts on its own.

What is the difference between an affidavit of heirship and a determination of heirship?

An affidavit is a statement of facts that a person swears to and the family records. A determination is a court judgment that names the decedent's heirs and only heirs and their shares (section 202.001). A proceeding to declare heirship may be brought at any time after the death (section 202.0025). If the family list is uncertain, a court determination is the one that settles it.

How long after a death can I sign one?

There is no deadline to sign an affidavit. A will is different: it may not be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary of the death unless the applicant was not in default in failing to present it by then (section 256.003).

What if the affidavit leaves someone out?

A buyer in good faith who relies on an affidavit that omits a child not yet legally established as a child gets good title to the interest that child would have received, but the heirs remain liable to that child for the proceeds of the sale (section 201.053). List every child and every marriage. A court determination of heirship (chapter 202) names the heirs and their shares.

Can the operator hold my royalties until I record it?

A payor may withhold without interest past the payment deadline when there is a title dispute, reasonable doubt that the payee has clear title, or a title opinion requirement about the payee's identity that a reasonable request has not cured (section 91.402(b)). Once the papers are in, ask what it held from the date of death and for interest from the day the condition ended (section 91.403).

What to do, in order, after a death

Get the heirs paid.

The report finds the interests, values them at the date of death and includes the recording steps, a packet for each operator and the letters.

Start the Estate reportAfter a death, step by stepRead an operator’s letter

Sources

Primary sources, opened on 29 September 2026. Statute text is the current version on statutes.capitol.texas.gov.