Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC Brings Energy Law & Estate Planning Together for Western Pennsylvania Landowners

Cecil-Based Practice Highlights Coordinated Legal Guidance for Families with Mineral Rights, Royalties, & Long-Term Estate Plans

United States 18/06/2026 Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC announced today an educational push aimed at helping landowners across Western Pennsylvania see how their oil and gas interests and their estate planning documents are connected. The firm, with offices in Cecil and Pittsburgh, is putting a sharper focus on integrated legal guidance for families who hold mineral rights, receive royalty income, or expect to pass land and leases to the next generation.

The announcement comes at a time when mineral owners across Washington County, Allegheny County, and the surrounding region are managing leases signed during the Marcellus Shale boom, dealing with division orders, and starting to think about how those assets fit into their wills and trusts. Many landowners still treat the two areas as separate problems, which leads to gaps that show up only when an estate goes through probate.

Background

Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC has been working with clients in Cecil, Pittsburgh, and across Western Pennsylvania since 2006. The firm built its early reputation on title opinions, division orders, and energy contract work for landowners and operators across the Marcellus region.

Over the years, the same families who came in for energy matters started asking about wills, powers of attorney, and how to leave their mineral interests to the next generation. The firm grew its estate planning practice to meet that demand while keeping its roots in oil and gas law. Today, attorneys at the firm handle work in both areas under one roof.

Practice Areas

The firm’s current work includes:

Oil and gas law and energy contract negotiation
Title opinions for surface and mineral interests
Division orders and royalty review
Estate planning, wills, and trusts
Powers of attorney
Probate and estate administration
Business law and contract review

Why the Two Areas Belong Together

A mineral rights owner in Washington County doesn’t just have a lease. They have a contract that runs for decades, a stream of royalty income, and an inheritance question that affects spouses, kids, and grandchildren.

When the legal pieces get handled separately, gaps appear:

Wills that name “all real property to my children” without making clear how mineral rights are treated under Pennsylvania law
Powers of attorney that don’t include language for signing or renegotiating oil and gas leases
Trusts that leave out the family’s royalty interests because nobody mentioned them
Heirs who learn about mineral rights only after a parent passes away
Royalty checks held in suspense for months while an estate gets sorted out

A coordinated plan from a western Pennsylvania energy and estate planning attorney brings the documents into one conversation instead of three.

Educational Focus

Alongside regular client work, the firm is putting more energy into educational content. The goal is to give landowners in Cecil, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities a clearer picture of what to look for before signing leases, before updating their estate plans, and before walking into either conversation without the other one in mind.

Topics being shared through the firm’s blog and press materials include:

What to ask before signing a Marcellus Shale gas lease
How to read a royalty statement
Why title work matters in oil and gas transactions
How estate plans should address mineral interests
When power of attorney documents need to be updated
How operating agreements protect family businesses

This Cecil PA landowner legal guidance is meant to help families ask better questions, not replace the work of sitting down with an attorney.

From the Firm

“Most landowners don’t realize how connected their gas lease and their estate plan are until something forces the question,” said a spokesperson for the firm. “Our job is to make sure the documents work together long before that moment arrives. We want families across Western Pennsylvania to walk into these conversations with a clearer picture of what they own and how it passes on.”

The firm noted that families who own mineral rights often hold them quietly for years, sometimes through multiple generations, without a current inventory or a coordinated plan. A short conversation with an attorney who handles both areas can surface issues that would otherwise sit until probate.

Common Questions Coming From Local Landowners

The firm reports receiving questions like:

How do royalty payments pass through an estate?
What happens if mineral rights are owned jointly by spouses?
Can a trust hold oil and gas leases?
How does Pennsylvania law treat severed mineral interests in probate?
What language belongs in a power of attorney for a landowner who receives royalty income?
How do heirs get added to division orders after a death?

These are the conversations the firm wants to make more accessible across the region.

Serving the Western Pennsylvania Community

Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC continues to serve clients in Cecil, Pittsburgh, Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, Bridgeville, Canonsburg, McDonald, Mt. Lebanon, Oakdale, and the rest of Washington and Allegheny Counties. Many of the firm’s clients are families who have held their land for generations, along with operators, investors, and small business owners who do work in the region. The attorneys are admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

About Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC

Kostrub Law Firm, PLLC is a Western Pennsylvania law firm with offices in Pittsburgh and Cecil, PA. Founded in 2006, the firm focuses on energy law, title opinions, division orders, estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and business law. Daniel B. Kostrub and Heather N. Kostrub lead the practice and serve clients across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.