Q: My wife inherited mineral rights along with her siblings to property owned by her parents.
We are opposed to any kind of mining - are we able to stop the others given that she co-owns the property?
A: It depends on what title you have to the mineral rights. Based on what you've written, you are probably co-tenants of an undivided interest in oil, gas, and other minerals. Assuming this, then no, you cannot stop the siblings from leasing, selling, or using their part of the interest. Each co-tenant has the right to develop the land if they want to. So, you may not want to, and you don't have to lease or sell or be any part of the operations, but your siblings might want to. You could consider selling your part of the interest to your siblings so that you get cash for your inheritance but are out of the oil/gas/mining situation. An experienced oil and gas attorney can gather more information from you to inform you of your options and advise you of what to do to accomplish your goals.
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