'Storm Chasers' Star Joel Taylor Did Not Have a Will, Had Estate Worth $500K

"Storm Chasers" star Joel Taylor did not leave behind a will prior to his death and his father has gone to court to be in charge of his son’s estate.

On February 2, Joel’s father, James Taylor, filed a petition in Oklahoma court to be appointed the head of his late son’s estate. Joel was survived only by his father and his mother Tracy Taylor.

James Taylor says his son left behind an estate worth in excess of $500,000, but he did not have a will drafted prior to his death.

Last month, American Express filed a creditor claim in the amount of $4,898.98 over an unpaid credit card bill. Capital One filed a claim in the amount of $9,604.12. The estate has objected to both claims.

Joel’s father filed docs seeking court approval to sell his son’s Oklahoma City home, which the judge signed off on.

The home was put on the market last month with the asking price of $450,000. Taylor bought the home in 2007 for $282,000.

The estate is still active and yet to be closed by the court.

As The Blast previously reported, FBI officials were initially contacted after Joel Taylor died while a passenger onboard Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas. The feds determined the death was not the result of a criminal act and passed it off to local authorities who suspected drugs or alcohol may have been involved.

An official for the Puerto Rico Forensic Sciences Institute tells The Blast they ran the toxicology test on the “Storm Chaser” star’s remains for drugs and alcohol, but “The laboratory confronted some issue with the machine” that runs the test for “medicines and some other legal drugs.”

After the autopsy, Taylor’s body was transferred back home to his family in Elk City, Oklahoma for the funeral.