Nick Reiner, currently awaiting trial for the murder of his parents, is actively pursuing over half a million dollars from their trust fund in probate court.
Reiner stands accused of fatally stabbing his father, director Rob Reiner, and his mother, producer Michele Reiner, on December 14th in their Brentwood residence. He has formally reiterated his demand for $558,000 from the trust fund, a sum the administrators state they cannot release, citing Reiner's pending murder trial as a significant factor.
Legal representatives for Reiner's former trust manager argued in a recent filing that Reiner's financial urgency is directly linked to the deaths of his parents, who established the trust, and the fact that he is accused of causing those deaths. Reiner, in response, has asserted that the money was wrongfully withheld and demanded its immediate release with accrued interest, denying any consent to defer the distribution of his Age-30 inheritance.
The dispute over the trust fund commenced in June when Reiner first petitioned the probate court, accusing the successor trustee of failing to disburse funds he claimed were owed since late 2023. His filings explicitly connected this demand to his impending murder trial, stating he was entitled to utilize his own financial resources for his defense.
Court records indicate that Reiner's former defense attorney received payment from the trust for outstanding fees in April. The current trustee resigned in July, despite threats of legal action from Reiner's probate attorney. Attorneys for the former trustee contend that the disbursement delays were due to incomplete records and due diligence concerns, further complicated by California's "slayer statute," which prohibits individuals from inheriting from victims they have intentionally killed.
Reiner has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is presumed innocent. Legal experts note that the application of the slayer statute in this context presents a complex legal question regarding his entitlement to the funds. The trustee's legal team maintains that the slayer statute was a genuine legal issue, not a pretext for delay, and that any delay in Reiner's receipt of the distribution was due to this unresolved legal matter, not the trustee's actions.
Attorneys representing the trustee further argued that Reiner, while incarcerated, has his basic needs met by the state and is represented by appointed counsel, thus having no legal entitlement to fund private legal representation through the trust. The fight is scheduled to return to Los Angeles County Superior Court, with Reiner expected in court for hearings in September, though no date has been set for the murder trial.
