Aimee serves clients throughout all of Texas. She 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 & Gas Law
- Real Estate Law
- Water Law
- Free Consultation
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Aimee customarily uses task-based, fixed "a la carte" fees in her practice, so that clients are aware of all fees and costs up front.
- Texas
- 5th Circuit
- Texas Supreme Court
- U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts
- U.S. District Courts in the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts
- English
- Principal
- Law Offices of Aimee Hess P.C.
- - Current
- Partner
- Besing Baker & Glast
- -
- Partner
- Law Clerk
- Texas Attorney General
- -
- Law Clerk
- 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
- Activities: Oil and Gas Law, Construction Law, Real Estate Law and Animal Law Sections
- Website
- Aimee Hess' Website Profile
- Blog
- Texas Oil and Gas Attorney Blog
- Texas Railroad Commission Amends Rule regarding Assignment of Acreage
21 February 2020 - Chesapeake Well Fire Draws Federal Investigation
14 February 2020 - Can Emails Create a Binding Contract?
7 February 2020 - The Validity of Top Leases
31 January 2020 - Texas Supreme Court Decides Whether Will Beneficiaries Get Surface or Mineral Estate
24 January 2020 - New Oil & Gas Scam in Texas Curtailed by New Law
4 January 2020 - How Utility Lines May Effect Property Values
20 December 2019 - United States Is Net Exporter of Oil
13 December 2019 - Texas Landowners Challenge SWEPCO Easement
5 December 2019
- Q. Executor failed to include mineral rights in probate on Oklahoma county. I have copies showing he retained the mineral
- A: I am only licensed in Texas, but I suspect Oklahoma law may be similar to Texas law in this situation. If the executor of an estate has not included the mineral rights in a deed from the estate to the beneficiaries, and this violates the terms of the will, you need to seek legal assistance promptly. An attorney can request that the executor file a corrected deed. If the executor fails or refuses to do so, the attorney can file a motion with the probate court and the executor can be ordered to do so. You need to act quickly because there are often very short statutes of limitations on these things.
- Q. Is it legal for an oil company to take your entire revenue check (which is our sole income) with no warning?
- A: This is certainly an unfortunate situation. Whether or not Pioneer is allowed to withhold all royalty due to you depends on the language of the most recent division order for these royalties that you signed, as well as the terms of the oil and gas lease that you or your predecessor in interest signed. In order to determine your rights, you need to have an experienced oil and gas attorney look at these documents and also check current court decisions to see what the Texas courts have said about the situation. Finally, in my experience, some oil companies will agree to modify the withholding amount and stretch out the withholding period over time where it creates a severe hardship such as in your case.
- Q. I am a creditor in an Chapter 11 Bankruptcy case . I inherited land which produces / pumps oil. This land was inherited
- A: In most cases, an oil company in bankruptcy must pay current royalties to its mineral owners with whom it has active oil and gas leases. Past royalties are often treated as claims against the bankruptcy estate. Whether the claim is secured or unsecured, or priority or nonpriority, depends on the terms of your oil and gas lease and a number of other factors. It is critical to retain a bankruptcy attorney to prepare and file an appropriate proof of claim for you and to represent you in the bankruptcy proceeding and protect your interests. Bankruptcy law is complex and it is not recommended that you represent yourself. If you do not know bankruptcy law, you can easily inadvertently waive your rights against the oil company.
- Q. My water service is not listed as regulated by the BPU. I am in the tears and they want 65% ($2000) by Monday or they
- A: I'm not sure what the BPU is. In Texas, if it is a rural water company, ask to see a copy of the company's tariff. The tariff will set out how they handle payments of deficiencies. If you disagree with the procedure, you can file a complaint with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Public Utilities Commission, who regulate water companies in Texas. In addition, you can appear at the water company's monthly board meeting to explain the situation and request a payment plan.
- Q. How can I prove that my dad's cancer was caused by toxic waste dumps from a nearby oil factory?
- A: You will need to contact an attorney who specializes in personal injury. They will retain a medical and other experts to investigate the causal connection between the waste and your father's cancer.
- Q. If my grandmother's name was forged on a document that cut her out of dividends from land (oil). What can be done?
- A: Your family's rights depends on what kind of document was signed and how long ago the forgery occurred. I assume the forged document was a deed. In Texas, a forged deed is void and does not pass title. However, there are statutes of limitation in Texas for asserting your rights. What statute of limitations applies and whether there are exceptions to those statutes that apply to your case depends on a variety of factors. In most cases, you cannot get royalties paid to someone else in error for more than 4 years in the past, but there are some exceptions to this doctrine. You may want to seek the assistance of a Texas oil and gas attorney who can interview you to obtain all the relevant facts, review the forged document and give you specific advice about your rights.
- Q. Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the final decree when do the creditor get paid for there proof of claim. This a oil and gas
- A: In most cases, in a Chapter 11 "Debtor in Possession" proceeding, the debtor prepares and files a "Plan of Reorganization" that must be approved by the Court and certain creditors. In most cases that I have been involved with, the Plan will provide details on when creditors get paid. You can get a copy of the Plan from the Bankruptcy Clerk, the Debtor's attorney or, in some cases, online through the PACER system.
- 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.
- 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.
