Is my ex-wife entitled to half the royalties on mineral rights if they are not mentioned in our divorce settlement?
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Is my ex-wife entitled to half the royalties on mineral rights if they are not mentioned in our divorce settlement?
Our divorce was final a year ago. She now claims that she is entitled to half of any royalty checks for the mineral rights even though as part of the divorce settlement I paid her for her half of the equity and she signed over all rights associated with the home. No document specifically addressed the mineral rights. She believes that because she did not sign a document addressing the mineral rights that she retained her half of the interest.
Asked on August 17, 2011 Texas
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Please seek legal help as soon as you possibly can here. How your divorce decree was written or ordered by the court in the distribution of your marital assets matters. Did your divorce decree have a residuary clause that divided equally the assets or rights - if which mineral rights are both - that were not specifically mentioned are divided equally? Or is it a more limited residuary clause? And how it relates to the section you refer to here is important. The mineral rights may not be considered "rights to the home" but rather rights in the property itself. Please seek legal help. Under the law in texas this matter may be difficult to re-establish in the courts. Good luck.
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