Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the district court that it is necessary for the payment of the family allowance or of claims, expenses of administration, or legacies, or that it is for the advantage, benefit, or best interests of the estate of a decedent, minor, or incompetent, and of the persons interested therein, that the whole or some undivided fractional part of the oil, gas, or other minerals in or under, or that may be produced from, land belonging to the estate should be sold separately from the surface rights, the personal representative may sell the same, upon order of the district court.