Aimee Hess
Law Offices of Aimee Hess P.C.Aimee concentrates her practice in the areas of oil and gas law (exclusively representing land owners and mineral owners in connection with testing agreements, surface agreements, oil and gas leases and pipeline or access easements), commercial real estate and water law. “One of the things I am passionate about”, Aimee says, “is assisting mineral and surface owners to make informed decisions about the future of their land and mineral assets, and in being good stewards of their land, both for themselves and for their heirs”. Aimee was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. The oldest of nine children, she was raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from Marian High School in Birmingham, Michigan, with honors. She graduated summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in Economics. She spent a year in graduate studies in economics at SMU, and then attended Southern Methodist University Law School. While in law school, she was a law clerk for the Texas Attorney General’s Office and wrote for the Southwestern Law Journal. After graduation from law school in 1977, Aimee joined a large Dallas law firm and became a partner in 1978. In 1981, she began her own firm, Law Offices of Aimee Hess P.C. She is currently admitted to practice before the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts in the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts. She is a member of the Oil and Gas Law, Construction Law, Real Estate Law and Animal Law Sections of the Texas Bar. Aimee and her husband Carl, a petroleum engineer, enjoy sailing, hiking, kayaking, windsurfing and finding homes for abused and orphaned dogs and parrots, many of whom have found their “forever home” with them.
- Energy, Oil and Gas
- Real Estate Law
- Water Law
- Free Consultation
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Texas
- 5th Circuit
- Southern Methodist University
- Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor (J.D.)
- Southern Methodist University
- B.A. (1972) | Economics
- Honors: Summa Cum Laude
- Texas State Bar # 09548500
- Member
- - Current
- Website
- Texas Oil and Gas Attorney
- Blog
- Texas Attorney Blog
- Grantor’s Intent is Drawn from the Plain Language in an Unambiguous Deed
6 July 2018 - New Oil and Gas Pipelines Planned for Texas
29 June 2018 - Renting Your Home is NOT a “Business Purpose” in Violation of Restrictive Covenant
15 June 2018 - Can a Text Message Establish the Proper Address for a Foreclosure Notice?
1 June 2018 - Oral Modifications to An Oil and Gas Agreement Not Barred By the Statute of Frauds
25 May 2018 - Healthy Forecast for Texas Permian Basin Oil and Gas Production
18 May 2018 - Land Descriptions Ambiguities Can Create Serious Problems in Oil and Gas Options
11 May 2018 - The Impact of Regulation on Texas Oil and Gas Production
4 May 2018 - Beware the Unintended Consequences of Drilling Bans
27 April 2018
- Q. Would it be acceptable for us to record a "Memorandum of Option To Exercise Oil, Gas, & Mineral Lease?" Thanks!
- A: Filing a memorandum in the county deed records is certainly used to give notice of an agreement without disclosing the precise terms. However, before you do that, have an oil and gas attorney review the option itself, as well as take a look a Texas court decisions, to make sure you are not going to be in violation of the option agreement by filing the memorandum.
- Q. Is it necessary to sign a W-9 form in order to transfer royalty from my deceased grand father's account?
- A: Yes, the oil company is required to get a W-9 so they know how to report royalties to the IRS and also to you at the end of the year on a 1099.
- Q. Are there any guidelines for recording an "Option To Exercise Oil, Gas, and Mineral Lease" in the state of Texas?
- A: Texas county clerks required original , notarized signatures on the document and payment of the correct filing fee to file any document in the county deed records.
- Q. Is it legal to put a wind turbine on the roof of a house?
- A: Whether or not you can install a wind turbine on your house depends on a number of factors. You will need to have an attorney evaluate your particular circumstances to determine if the law allows it. Generally, your attorney would need to determine what municipal or county ordinances might apply that could restrict or regulate this installation. Secondly, your attorney would need to determine if there are any restrictive covenants for your neighborhood that may prohibit or regulate a wind turbine. Finally, your attorney will need to evaluate whether the size, appearance and sounds made by the turbine would constitute a nuisance to any near-by neighbors. Nuisance cases are judged by Texas courts on a case by case basis, so your attorney will need to review recent court cases on this subject to see how they apply.
- Q. Several years ago a petroleum company removed a pump that was partially on my father's land. Can we still seek damage
- A: I assume you are asking whether you can recover damages to the land? Whether or not you can depends on a number of factors, such as how long ago the damage occurred, what kind of damage it is and the terms of any agreements between your father and the oil company. It is important to have an oil and gas attorney review these and other factors with you to determine if your father can assert a claim for damages. Be aware that there are statutes of limitations that prohibit bringing a claim after a certain length of time, so you should seek the advice of an attorney sooner rather than later. In addition, many states have funds that can be used to repair damage left by an oil company if the company is no longer in business. In Texas, that is the Texas Railroad Commission.
- Q. Our mother made a deal leasing her rights, but she has early stage dementia, can we contest this?
- A: If your mother's dementia prevented her from understanding what she was signing, it may be possible to void the lease. You will need to seek the assistance of an attorney to evaluate the specifics of her situation and also a written opinion of a physician that she lacks mental capacity to understand what she signed.
- Q. Does adverse possession include mineral rights underneath the land's surface?
- A: Adverse possession of the surface can include adverse possession of the mineral rights as long as the mineral rights have not been severed from the surface. Severance of minerals rights from the surface estate can occur in a number of ways, such as a lease of the minerals, a deed which reserves the mineral rights or an outright deed of the mineral rights to a third party. An oil and gas attorney will need to review documents in the chain of title for the property to determine whether severance of the mineral rights has occurred.
- Q. Do you need to get permission to install wind power on a privately owned farm?
- A: In most cases, yes, you need not only permission to install wind turbines on privately owned property, you must have a written agreement, usually in the form of a lease, which addresses the compensation to the landowner and other important issues.
- Q. My mother had a interest in oil property in Oklahoma that was left to my brother and me. He is deceased. In a settlemet
- A: The answer is maybe. This is a case where the devil is in the details. The unclaimed property department of each state is separate from one another. However, you will still need to have an attorney review both the settlement agreement and any documents relevant to the Oklahoma oil property to determine whether the Oklahoma property goes to you or to his daughter under the terms of the settlement agreement.