Do whatever it takes to get your property to whom you want it to go before you die. If at all possible, don't let anything go through probate. Probate will tie things up for quite some time but that's a minor problem compared to the bigger problem. Having done title searches I can tell you it will take hundreds of hours to sort out who owns what minerals, and for lawyers those are billable hours. After three generations of North Dakotans, oil rights have been spread out among thousands, and the proportions have grown smaller and smaller. In many cases, one can almost guarantee that any potential for mineral rights will be lost in probate. You might as well assume most of your oil money will be lost in probate if you area a small player. Many would recommend a family trust.It is in the best interests of lawyers to have you put everything into a will. In fact, anything in a will is probated, to the best of my knowledge. And that's why lawyers tell you to make sure you have a will. You do not want your property to go through probate. One can find a way to transfer property to heirs without going through probate in almost every case. Most interesting is this: there is a way to have one's equities go to your designated heirs without going through probate.
I have not read much of the article at this link; I am not connected to that site in any manner, no hidden agenda.
I am not a lawyer; I have no legal training. This is simply my 2-cents worth of idle chatter among friends.
Note: based on the first comment below, some folks may have misconstrued what I wrote. Let me be clear: everyone should have a will. A will goes through probate. A lawyer can help arrange for property to be passed on to heirs without going through probate. Financial advisers can also help arrange for property to be passed on to heirs without going through probate. Based on all I know about minerals, I would prefer minerals not go through probate.