Royalty money that could not be paid does not vanish. It sits with the operator, then goes to the state, under the name of whoever owned the minerals, which is often someone who died years ago. Here is where Michigan puts it, how long it takes to get there, and how to get it back. The search is free and so is our help.
Updated November 2026. Written by Stephen Clayman, career landman and owner of Berlin Royalties. Statutes were checked against primary sources; where we could not confirm a detail the page says so. This is general information from a buyer, not legal advice.
Search the Michigan Department of Treasury, Unclaimed Property database under the name of every family member who ever owned the minerals, including maiden names, initials and misspellings. Then call the operator's owner relations department, because money inside the dormancy period is still at the operator and will not show up in the state's search. Both steps are free, and we will run both for you free.
The Michigan search is run by the Michigan Department of Treasury, Unclaimed Property at unclaimedproperty.michigan.gov/app/claim-search. Search by name only, so try every variant. For money still at the operator, our free operator directory has the owner relations contact for every company registered in the state, including the ones that no longer exist, which is where older wells' money usually sits.
Three years after the money becomes payable, under MCL 567.223(1). Michigan has no mineral-specific section; royalties fall under the general rule.
We could not confirm pay-to-current language in Michigan's statute; MCL 567.222 does not define mineral proceeds. Ask the operator whether later payments are still being held. In a pay-to-current state, once an owner's first payment is reported, every later royalty follows it, so the state's balance under a family name keeps growing and the operator holds nothing. In the other states, each payment runs its own clock, and the newest money is still with the operator.
If the owner is deceased, a biological heir or devisee, a beneficiary, or the personal representative if the estate is in probate may claim. No finder is required and the Treasury does not endorse locators. The state pays the owner of record or that owner's legal successor, so the title question and the claim question are the same question: who inherited the minerals, and what document proves it.
Locator agreements made within 24 months after the property reaches the state are unenforceable under MCL 567.256, locators must register with the Treasury, and there is no percentage cap in that section. You do not need one; the search is free. Companies that write to heirs offering to "recover" unclaimed royalties for a percentage are selling you a search you can run in two minutes. Some of them also ask for the minerals themselves. Do not sign anything that conveys an interest in exchange for help with a claim.
Send a photo of whatever you have. We will identify the interest, tell you why the money is suspended, and tell you what document unlocks it. Free, and the answer is the same whether or not you sell.
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Three years after they become payable under MCL 567.223(1). There is no separate rule for mineral proceeds.
A biological heir or devisee, a beneficiary, or the personal representative while the estate is in probate. No finder is needed.
No percentage cap in MCL 567.256, but any locator agreement signed within 24 months of the money reaching the state is unenforceable, and locators must be registered. The search is free.