Transfer Texas Mineral Rights With an Attorney-Prepared Mineral Deed
A Mineral Deed Is Permanent. One Mistake Lasts Forever
A mineral deed is the recorded document that moves ownership of Texas oil, gas and mineral rights from one owner to another. It must describe the minerals exactly, be signed before a notary, and be recorded in every county where the minerals sit. Until it is recorded, operators keep paying the old owner of record.
Inside Experience
Inside oil companies 2006 to 2015, doing title curative work
Landowner-Only
We never represent operators, brokers or buyers
Complete Package
Records, deed, signing and recording, handled by our team
Property and Well Booklet
With every deed: your property, its wells and who to call, in plain English
Our mineral transfer service handles everything. We pull the recorded deeds your minerals come from, draft the deed, set up the notary signing where you live, record it in every county, and send you the recorded deed with your Property and Well Booklet.
From 2006 to 2015, Attorney Daughtrey worked inside oil companies as a licensed attorney and landman. His job was to find title problems so companies could drill. Now his job is to find those same problems before they find his clients. We work only for landowners and their families, never for operators, brokers or buyers on the other side.
What does our mineral transfer service include?
We do the work. You answer a few questions and sign once.
Your call
Tell us the counties and tracts and we give you the price on the call. If you do not know them, we explain the Mineral Legacy Assessment.
The records.
We pull the recorded deeds your minerals come from, so the new deed matches what you actually own.
The deed
Our attorney drafts the mineral deed with the exact description, fraction, and granting and warranty language written for minerals.
Your approval
We send you the draft, answer your questions, and make any changes before anything is signed.
The signing
Our team schedules a notary where you live and sends you the signing copies. No trip to Texas.
The recording
We record the deed in every county where the minerals sit, electronically where the county accepts it, and follow each county until the recorded deed comes back.
Your booklet
We send you the recorded deed with your Property and Well Booklet.
Operator notice(On Demand)
We send the recorded deed to each operator with a request to update its records and pay the new owner. Without the add-on, your booklet tells you which operators to contact.
What is the Property and Well Booklet?
Every mineral deed we prepare comes with a Property and Well Booklet. It is a plain-English guide to what you now own, written for your family.
What the booklet covers depends on your property. A tract with active drilling gets more about its wells than a tract with none.
Maps
Maps of the property.
The wells
Where there are any: a basic explanation of the wells and the operators tied to your minerals.
Royalties
How royalties are paid and what to expect on a statement.
Who to call
Who to call, and for what.
Recording
A short note on how recording works and how long it takes.
Do you need an attorney to transfer mineral rights in Texas?
You might be thinking: “It’s one page. I can find a form online.”
Some people can. One owner deeding one fully described tract in one county, with no lease and no well, may be fine with a form. It fails when any of these apply:
- The minerals are producing, or a lease is in place
- The minerals are in more than one county
- The owner of record has died
- The minerals are going into a trust or an LLC
- An older deed uses fractions like “one-half of the one-eighth royalty”
In those cases, a title examiner at the operator reads your deed before anyone pays you. A deed that looks right but fails that review can put royalties in suspense until it is fixed. And a form gives you a document. It does not search the records, set up the signing, record in every county, or tell your family what they now own.
How does a mineral transfer get you paid?
Operators pay the owner shown in the county records. That is why the transfer is not finished when the deed is signed. It is finished when the recorded deed reaches the operator.
We draft the deed against the recorded source deeds and record it in each county, then follow each county until the recorded deed comes back. With the operator notice add-on, we send it to each operator ourselves. Without it, your Property and Well Booklet names each operator so you know who to contact.
The operator then sends the new owner a division order. If you want that reviewed before you sign it, our division order review service covers it.
Can you transfer Texas mineral rights if you live in another state?
Yes. Most of the families we serve live outside Texas. Our team schedules a notary where you live, and we handle recording in Texas. No travel is needed.
Read how one family transferred Texas mineral rights to an adult child without probate.
Does your trust own your Texas minerals?
Often it does not. A trust only owns Texas minerals that were deeded into it and recorded in Texas. Many families sign a trust in another state and never deed the minerals in. The royalty checks keep coming in the old name until someone dies, and then the gap shows.
See why putting Texas mineral rights in a trust is the step most families miss.
What if the owner of record has already died?
Then a deed alone may not be the first step. The heirs may need an affidavit of heirship, a muniment of title, or another path before anyone can sign a deed.
Our probate for landowners page explains the options, and the inherited mineral rights guide walks through what operators require.
Who handles your transfer?
Nixon Daughtrey has been licensed in Texas since 2001. After insurance defense litigation, he worked inside oil companies from 2006 to 2015 as a licensed attorney and landman, doing the title curative work that catches deed errors. He founded The Daughtrey Law Firm in Houston in 2015 to use that experience only for landowners and mineral owners.
Our attorney drafts every deed. The rest of our team handles the signing, the recording and your booklet, and stays your contact from the first call until the recorded deed is in your hands.
We are not neutral.
Operators, brokers and buyers are never our clients, so there is never a question of whose side we are on.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT MINERAL DEEDS IN TEXAS
How long does it take to transfer mineral rights in Texas?
Most transfers take about 6 to 10 weeks from the day we start to the day your deed is recorded. That is longer than people expect when they ask how long it takes to transfer a deed, because the deed has to be signed, notarized and recorded in Texas. Getting the operator to pay the new owner usually takes several more weeks after that.
What is included in the price?
The records search, the deed, the signing setup, recording in each county, follow-up until the recorded deed comes back, and your Property and Well Booklet. Notice to operators is an add-on.
What is in the Property and Well Booklet?
Maps of your property, a basic explanation of any wells and operators, how royalties are paid, and who to call. What it covers depends on your property.
Does a mineral deed have to be notarized to be valid in Texas?
Yes. Texas requires that a deed transferring real property, including mineral interests, be signed in front of a notary public to be eligible for recording. An unnotarized deed may be valid between the parties but cannot be recorded in county deed records. Recording is what provides constructive notice to third parties.
Can I transfer only some of my mineral rights?
Yes. You can transfer a fraction of your interest, or the minerals in one county and not another. The deed must state exactly what is conveyed.
What happens to my existing oil and gas lease when I transfer minerals?
An existing lease typically transfers with the minerals unless the deed specifically provides otherwise. The new mineral owner steps into your position as the lessor under the existing lease. Royalty payments follow the ownership. Operator notification after recording is how the transition gets implemented.
Do I need a new deed for each county?
Not always a new document, but the deed must be recorded in every county where the minerals sit. Our price is per county for that reason.
What is the difference between a mineral deed and a royalty deed?
A mineral deed moves the minerals themselves, including the right to lease. By contrast, a royalty deed moves only a share of production income. Using the wrong one changes what the new owner can do..
Make the transfer once, and make it hold
A mineral deed is read by every operator, title examiner and buyer who touches your family’s minerals after today. We get it right, record it everywhere it needs to be, and leave your family a Property and Well Booklet that explains what they own.
Find out in 15 minutes what your transfer will cost. Or call (713) 669-1498, with your county names nearby if you know them.