The first step when dealing with your property rights regardless of the situation is to have a clear understanding of what you own and whether there are any clouds on your title. This is especially important in the oil, gas and mineral context because there could be a significant amount of money involved. This is only one way that an oil and gas attorney can assist you. Other necessary skills include performing searches of public records and either preparing a title opinion or interpreting another attorney’s title opinion, which sets forth the various ownership interests in your lands. This includes a thorough examination of abstracts of titles, leases, contracts, and other legal documents to determine ownership of land, and gas, oil, and mineral rights. We have the ability to handle cases that include:
- Determining Oil & Gas mineral rights
- Oil & Gas rights negotiations
- Oil & Gas rights defense
- Settlements & Title Insurance
When ownership is determined, the landowner (exploration company) in a position to effectively negotiate. Once the deal is done, an oil and gas attorney must draw up legal documents covering purchase and sale of land, and oil, gas, and mineral rights, draft deeds and affidavits, and present other evidence to meet legal requirements of those documents. Lastly, if there is a dispute, your attorney must be able to go to trial to defend your rights in court. The laws in Pennsylvania surrounding oil, gas and mineral rights are complicated, counter intuitive and in some cases unique to the Commonwealth. Don’t give away the advantage when dealing with your land. Contact Mooney & Associates.