North Dakota Code 38-18.1-06 – Notice of lapse of mineral interest – Method
1. The owner or owners of the surface estate in the land in or under which the mineral interest is located intending to succeed to the ownership of a mineral interest upon its lapse shall give notice of the lapse of the mineral interest by publication.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 38-18.1-06
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Probate: Proving a will
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- week: means seven consecutive days and the word "month" a calendar month. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33
2. The publication provided for in subsection 1 must be made once each week for three weeks in the official county newspaper of the county in which the mineral interest is located; however, if the address of the mineral interest owner is shown of record or can be determined upon reasonable inquiry as defined in subsection 6, notice must also be made by mailing a copy of the notice to the owner of the mineral interest within ten days after the last publication is made.
3. The notice must state:
a. The name of the record owner of the mineral interest; b. A description of the land on which the mineral interest involved is located; and
c. The name of the owner or owners of the surface estate in the land in or under which the mineral interest is located giving the notice.
4. A copy of the notice and an affidavit of service of the notice must be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the mineral interest is located and constitutes prima facie evidence in any legal proceedings that such notice has been given.
5. The owner or owners of the surface estate in the land in or under which the mineral interest is located who succeeds to the ownership of a mineral interest upon its lapse under this chapter is entitled to record a statement of succession in interest indicating that that owner or owners of the surface estate in the land in or under which the mineral interest is located has succeeded to the ownership of the mineral interest.
6. To constitute a reasonable inquiry as provided in subsection 2, the owner or owners of the surface estate or the owner’s authorized agent must conduct a search of:
a. The county recorder’s records for the existence of any uses as defined in section 38-18.1-03 by the owner of the mineral interest; b. The clerk of court‘s records for the existence of any judgments, liens, or probate records which identify the owner of the mineral interest; c. The social security death index for the last-known residence of the owner of the mineral interest, if deceased; and
d. One or more public internet databases to locate or identify the owner of the mineral interest or any known heirs of the owner. The owner or owners of the surface estate are not required to conduct internet searches on private fee internet databases.