Training Course Syllabus:

Estate Planning for Owners of Oil and Gas Rights

Your Guide to Valuing and Transferring Oil and Gas Rights to Heirs

The oil and gas boom has created previously unimaginable wealth for many people. This wealth has also created unforeseen estate planning considerations for these individuals, as well as innumerable questions for attorneys who advise them. Join our experienced faculty to obtain invaluable information on oil and gas interest valuation, royalty payment taxation, trust and corporate entity structuring, and more. Take the confusion out of incorporating oil and gas rights into estate plans - register today!

• Locate deeds, tax records and other critical documents that outline the extent of your clients' oil and gas holdings.
• Determine the best method of valuation for oil and gas rights, locate the correct experts to value unexploited resources and more.
• Employ oil and gas-specific strategies to lessen your clients' estate tax burden.
• Advise your clients on the best trust types to transfer oil and gas rights and royalties to heirs.
• Evaluate which kind of corporate entity best meets the needs of your clients who possess oil and gas rights.
• Ensure oil and gas companies properly transfer royalty payments at the end of the probate process.
• Appropriately handle situations where multiple generations of the same family have conflicting interests.

1. Initial Planning Considerations for Owners of Oil and Gas Rights
   9:00 - 10:00, Donald D. Allen
   1. Types of Oil and Gas Interests - Royalty Interest, Working Interest, etc.
   2. Types of Oil and Gas Leases - Net Lease, Gross Lease, etc.
   3. Instruments Used to Convey and Deal in Oil and Gas Interests - Deed, Assignment, Division, Order, etc.
   4. Dividing Oil and Gas Rights from Surface Rights - When is it Wise?
   5. Creating Oil and Gas Servitudes
   6. Determining What a Client Owns - Locating and Scouring Deeds, Tax Records, Tax Returns, etc.
   7. Interstate Planning Issues
   8. Updating Estate Plans When Oil and Gas Interests are Discovered
2. Valuation of Oil and Gas Interests for Wealth Planning Purposes
   10:15 - 11:00, Jack R. Luellen
   1. Methods of Valuation - Which is Best?
      1. Cost Method
      2. Comparable Sales Method
      3. Income Method
   2. Obtaining and Evaluating Resource Reports
   3. Oil and Gas Appraisals: Locating the Right Expert and More
   4. Determining the Present Market Value of Royalties and Working Interests
   5. Valuing Unexploited Oil and Gas Resources
3. Oil and Gas Lease and Royalty Taxation
   11:00 - 12:00, Tyler Murray
   1. State and Federal Taxation - Lease Bonuses, Royalties, Income, etc.
   2. County Ad Velorum Taxes
   3. Severance Taxes
   4. Oil and Gas Revenue and Estate and Gift Taxes
   5. Strategies to Reduce Tax Burdens
      1. Bonus and Royalty Deductions
      2. Percentage Depletion Allowances
      3. Working Interest Deductions
      4. Other Deductions
4. Trust Structuring for Owners of Oil and Gas Interests
   1:00 - 2:00, W. Douglas Hoak
   1. Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship and Tenant in Common
   2. Revocable Living Trusts - Avoiding Probate, Providing Choice Oil and Gas Right/Royalty Distribution
   3. Irrevocable Trusts - Providing Tax Saving Benefits on Oil and Gas Interests
   4. Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts - Freezing Oil and Gas Interest Values and Avoiding Gift Taxes
   5. Marital Trusts - Ensuring the Right Heirs Receive Oil and Gas Rights/Royalties
   6. Testamentary Trusts - Directing How and Whether Heirs Receive Oil and Gas Rights/Royalties
   7. Minimizing Trust Taxes
   8. Tips for Drafting and Administering Trusts
5. Estate Administration for Owners of Oil and Gas Rights
   2:15 - 3:30, Tyler Murray
   1. Discovering Oil and Gas Deeds
   2. Transferring Title
   3. Reconciling Severed Oil and Gas Rights with Surface Title
   4. Dealing with Life Estates in Oil and Gas Interests
   5. Royalties Transfer Procedure: Drafting the Division Order
   6. Tax on Royalties as Income of the Estate
   7. Out-of-State Issues
   8. Dealing with Oil and Gas Rights not Administered as Part of the Estate
6. Ethics
   3:30 - 4:30, Jack R. Luellen
   1. Protecting Confidentiality
   2. Conflicts of Interest when Representing Multiple Generations of a Family
   3. Attorney Fees
   4. Avoiding Fraudulent Transfers

Seminar Summary:

Take the confusion out of incorporating oil and gas rights into estate plans (see full course description)

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