You inherited an interest in Mississippi, or you are about to. Here is what the state actually requires to put it in your name, what can take it away if you do nothing, where the money goes when the operator cannot find you, and the order to do things in. Written by a mineral buyer who pays for the probate on a committed deal, so read it with that in mind.
Updated November 2026. Written by Stephen Clayman, career landman and owner of Berlin Royalties. Statutes were checked against primary sources; this is general information from a buyer, not legal advice, and the state-specific details are the reason to call a Mississippi attorney, not a substitute for one.
Usually, in chancery court. An affidavit of heirship is recorded with the chancery clerk but title companies often want a court determination of heirship under Miss. Code 91-1-27 behind it. The small estate affidavit is personal property only. A will can be probated as a muniment of title, including by an out-of-state personal representative, where the non-real-property estate is under the small estate figure.
Minerals are real property and the chancery court has jurisdiction. The Miss. Code 91-7-322 small estate affidavit covers personal property only, up to $75,000, 30 days after death. An affidavit of heirship is recorded with the chancery clerk and accepted by operators for pay status, but title companies often require a determination of heirship under Miss. Code 91-1-27, which any heir or person interested in the property may petition for in the chancery court of the county where the land is (or the decedent's residence, or for nonresidents the county of the real estate).
Where there is a will, Miss. Code 91-5-35 allows probate as a muniment of title if the probate estate excluding real property and exempt property does not exceed the small estate sum and all known debts and taxes are paid; the petition may be signed by a personal representative serving in another state, which makes it the ancillary route for nonresidents.
Yes. The Mississippi Real Property Transfer-On-Death Act, Miss. Code 91-27-1 and following, took effect July 1, 2020. The deed must be recorded before death with the chancery clerk, and beneficiaries take as tenants in common by default. The statute does not address minerals separately; a severed mineral interest is real property.
No dormant mineral act. What Mississippi has is Miss. Code 11-17-33, under which the chancery court may appoint the clerk as receiver to lease the minerals of nonresident or unknown owners after diligent search, with proceeds held for the absent owner and claims payable within ten years; title is not extinguished. Severed minerals that escheat for want of heirs are sold at the courthouse door under 89-11-31, with a surface owner match right.
Miss. Code 53-3-39: purchasers owe interest on undisbursed royalty from 120 days after first sale, at the greater of 8 percent or 2 points above the federal discount rate, except where proceeds are suspended for title. No interest is owed if payment is made within 60 days after the month of sale, and amounts of $100 or less may be paid every 120 days. Our letter generator writes the statutory demand, and the full state table is on royalty payment laws by state.
Search Mississippi State Treasury unclaimed property under the decedent's name and every spelling of it. Five-year dormancy, including mineral proceeds, longer than most states. Our unclaimed royalties hub covers the search in every state we buy in, and we run it free whether or not you sell.
No Mississippi estate tax return for deaths on or after January 1, 2005, and no inheritance or gift tax. Mississippi withholds a 6 percent severance tax on oil and gas before the royalty is figured. Inherited minerals take a federal stepped-up basis. The arithmetic is on our capital gains and depletion page, and a date-of-death appraisal is what documents the basis.
The printable version of that list, with the title path for every state, is our executor's checklist for mineral rights.
Send a photo of whatever you have. We will tell you what the family owns, what it pays, whether any money is sitting in suspense or with the state, what the title needs, and what it is worth, in writing and with the reasoning shown. Free, and the answer is the same whether or not you sell.
Get a Free Valuation Text a Check StubOr call or text 918-984-1645 and ask for Stephen.
Sometimes for a small interest, but most buyers' title examiners will want a chancery court determination of heirship under Miss. Code 91-1-27 behind it. On a committed purchase we handle and pay for that proceeding.
Yes, where the will can be probated as a muniment of title under Miss. Code 91-5-35; the petition may be signed by a personal representative serving in another state. Otherwise an ancillary administration in chancery.
No. The nearest thing is the 11-17-33 receivership, which lets the chancery clerk lease the minerals of owners who cannot be found but does not take title from them.