Stan, Thank you for sending the recent article on split estates.

http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/13/10/USA-FRACKING:RIGHTS.pdf

Please let people on your listserv know that homeowners do not have to be blindsided when they purchase their home. A title search would have revealed that the mineral/oil/gas rights were previously reserved by a third party. In the alternative, if the rights to the mineral/oil/gas were reserved by the seller of the current sale, the property’s legal description attached to the contract of sale and the deed would have revealed that the seller was reserving these rights; otherwise it would potentially constitute fraud.

Some of this was covered in the on-line links to the September issue of MORE Magazine. Below on the first link is the on-line primer for people who want to know more about hydraulic fracturing. The second link is a sidebar for which I was in interviewed that talks about what people should look for if they want to buy a home near drilling operations. These recommendations would have helped people purchasing land with a split estate-except, as explained above, when the mineral/oil/gas rights are reserved at the time of the sale. In that case, as mentioned above, the contract of sale and deed would state this in the legal description of the property.  Home represents a family’s most valuable asset; considering that fact, it makes sense to consult an attorney and purchase title insurance.

Please share the links below as well. The third link is MORE’s feature interview of Sharon Wilson.

Click this link for the full article.

http://www.more.com/health/wellness/how-fracking-affects-you

Click this link for the part of the article where I talk about what to look for if you are buying a home where gas drilling is going on.

http://www.more.com/reinvention-money/money/do-you-own-whats-under-your-home

Feature article in Sharon Wilson. It is excellent!

http://www.more.com/news/personalities/texas-rebels-fight-her-land

Thank you,

Elisabeth Radow