Where to look
- The county or parish where the minerals lie: deed or conveyance records and probate records.
- The county where the owner lived and died. A will probated there may never have been recorded where the land is.
- Other states, when the family moved.
- Division orders and suspense notices, which show who the payor thinks owns the interest and why it is holding money.
How a landman traces it
- Finds the instrument that vested the interest in the person who died.
- Searches the grantor index for anything later out of that person or their estate.
- Searches probate indexes in the county of the land and the county of residence.
- Reads each affidavit of heirship for the family facts it states and who swore to them.
- Draws a descent chart that marks each fact as of record or not of record, and lists the gaps.
What the record does not settle
The record shows what was filed. Who the heirs are as a matter of law, and how an interest passes with no probate, are questions the records inform but do not answer by themselves.
We are landmen, not attorneys. This page describes the land record in general terms. It is not legal advice, and every matter turns on its own instruments.