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Your Answer:

If they had no children at the time of Nealey's death, then all property went to Eilleen.

Eileen's estate would be distributed under the terms of her will, including the mineral interests, so a probate was required. Now that the will was destroyed, there is no way to prove the terms, so the only persons that could be approved to receive the property would be Eileen's heirs.

Since she had no children, her parents, if alive at her death, were her heirs. If they were not then alive, then her siblings, if alive (or deceased and leaving their own children -- Eileen's nephews/nieces), are her heirs and they are entitled to the property, including the minerals.

Mineral interests are usually not probated in these situations due to costs. Instead, an affidavit of death and heirship is generally used to put ownership in the names of the heirs. That is something that a local attorney could assist you with.

The applicable law on descent and distribution can be viewed here:

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=73029

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