Oil & Gas Rights Q&A

3 Common Questions from CO and WY Land Owners
The oil and gas attorneys at McDonough Law receive a lot of questions from landowners about oil and gas rights. If you own land in Colorado or Wyoming, there is a good chance that you are sitting on oil or natural gas. Whether or not you own the rights to those natural minerals is an important legal determination, especially as business in that industry continues to boom.

Here, are three of the most common questions we receive about oil and gas rights.

If I own the land, do I also own the minerals?

Surface land and mineral estates are legally defined as two separate things. In other words, you can own the surface of your land, but not the mineral rights to anything found below the surface; including minerals like oil and gas.

If you own both the surface land and the mineral rights, it is known as a ‘fee simple ownership.’ However, if the mineral rights were ever separated from the surface use through a deed, it created a ‘split estate’.

Unfortunately, determining if you have fee simple ownership or a split estate can sometimes be difficult. Deeds are not always properly recorded or conveyed in purchase agreements or estates and trusts, which means that the mineral rights may have been deeded years ago but were long forgotten in the paper trail. A proper land title search is usually necessary.

If you need help determining whether you own minerals you should speak with an experienced oil and gas attorney from McDonough Law Group. A full-service law firm with a depth of knowledge, Crystal McDonough and her team can help you understand your property rights and determine exactly how much you own.

8 Steps To A New Business

Starting a new business is an exciting endeavor but can quickly become overwhelming – especially if you’re doing it alone. Creating a well-defined business plan allows you to refine incomplete ideas, address matters you might not have considered, construct a roadmap so you know what to do next, and even increase credibility for bank lenders or investor funding.

Here are some guidelines provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), that will help you get down to business, literally:

1. Executive Summary. An executive summary is a snapshot of your business plan as a whole and touches on your company profile and goals.

2. Company Description. The company description provides information on what you do, what differentiates your business from others, and defines the markets your business will serve.

3. Market Analysis. Before launching your business, it is essential for you to research the industry, market, and competitors. What’s working and what’s not working for your competitors? How will you distinguish yourself from others? Is there anyone else in your market? If not, it could be for good reason—there might not be a consumer demand for your product or service.

4. Organization & Management. Every business is structured differently, so it’s important to understand how your company will be organized and managed. What entity will you use? Who’s in charge of what, and when? What kind of business succession plan needs to be put in place?

5. Service or Product Line. Tell the story about your product or service. Describe the features of what you sell and how it will benefit your potential customers.

6. Marketing & Sales. Describe how you plan to market your business and explain your general sales strategy.

7. Funding Request. If you are seeking funding for your business, make sure to include every detail requested by potential investors in your business plan. Any omissions may put your request at the bottom of the pile, or worse yet, in the garbage can.

8. Financial Projections. Providing financial projections to back up your funding request is critical. Find out what information you need to include in your financial projections for the bank or angel investor.

It’s likely that you may not know the answers to these questions, and that’s okay. McDonough Law Group can help you to refine your goals, map out your plan, and provide the kind of details needed to make your venture a success. Even if you’re already “knee-deep” in your business model, we’ll help you get your “ducks in a row.” Call (970) 776-3311 to schedule your FREE consultation.