Austin Oil, Gas, and Mineral Rights Division Lawyer

Do You Have Oil, Gas, or Mineral Rights?

At Vaught Law Firm, our team of experienced attorneys and dedicated legal professionals is well-versed in property division issues related to oil, gas and mineral rights. It can be difficult to determine exactly what rights you own, how valuable they are and whether they should be treated as separate or community property. By drawing on our firsthand knowledge of these issues and our extensive network of valuation and financial experts, we are able to find effective resolutions to this complicated aspect of a divorce with sophisticated assets.

When you retain the Vaught Law Firm, you work directly with one of our Austin asset division lawyers, such as firm founder and family law attorney Jimmy Vaught or associates Erin Leake and Jillian French.

Mineral, Oil, Gas, and Other Resource Rights in Texas

In Texas, it is very rare that property is transferred without a party reserving mineral rights in the land. As technology evolves and new mining methods make resources that were previously unreachable readily accessible, these rights can increase in value. Property or mineral rights that have been in a family for a long time and were once thought to be only marginally valuable can see a sudden, exponential increase in value as they become economically viable to:

• Access oil reserves deep beneath the surface
• Reach natural gas via hydraulic fracturing and other emerging methods
• Develop quarries for granite, limestone and other valuable minerals
• Build roads and support resources to access timber and other surface resources

REQUEST A CONSULTATION

For these and all other types of resource rights, we conduct an in-depth investigation to determine exactly what rights you possess. We then work with valuation specialists to determine what these rights are worth, and what will constitute an equitable division.

Our process includes an assessment of whether the rights were brought with you into the marriage and remain separate property, or whether they are community property owned jointly by you and your spouse. We also analyze income you may have received from these rights; while the property and rights themselves may remain separate property, income received during the marriage has the potential to be classified as community property.