Who Owns The Minerals Under My Property?

Real property ownership comprises a group of rights, sometimes referred to by lawyers as the “bundle of sticks” theory.  This means that property owners can retain the entire bundle of rights together, or they can separate out some of the rights and sell, lease, gift, or otherwise convey those rights to others.  Among the bundle of sticks is the right to use the surface of the land and the right to own and use the minerals underneath the surface of the land.  This ability to separate the minerals and related mineral rights from ownership of the surface causes confusion for many Wisconsin landowners; do I own these minerals or not?...   ...more

RSK: Good question. One of our RE CE instructors from Reinhart, Maya, explains.