Nick Reiner, facing charges for the alleged murder of his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, has been refused access to the $1.5 million US trust fund he sought to utilize for his legal defense. In a filing from June, Reiner had been trying to claim purportedly unpaid funds from a trust established for him by his parents in 1993.
As per court documents obtained by CBC News, trustees dismissed Reiner’s request for the funds, citing a section of California law known as the “slayer statute,” which bars individuals who have committed a felony resulting in the death of the benefactor from inheriting money, property, or trusts.
Rob Reiner, a renowned director and actor, and his wife Michele, a photographer and producer, were fatally stabbed in their California residence on December 14. Shortly after, their son Nick Reiner was taken into custody. The 32-year-old was formally charged with murder on July 20 and has entered a plea of not guilty.
An indictment by a Los Angeles County grand jury, unveiled earlier this month, alleges that Reiner intentionally ambushed his parents before the attack. This, coupled with other circumstances, exposes him to the possibility of facing the death penalty. The decision on whether to pursue this penalty is pending, according to District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Reiner is set to appear in court for a pretrial hearing in September, where he is being represented by public defender Kimberly Greene. The filing from June revealed that alongside the family trust fund, individual trust funds were established for the Reiner children in their names, with Nick Reiner slated to receive half of his trust fund at age 30 and the remainder at 35.
Despite claiming he had not received the funds due to him at 30, Reiner argued in the petition that he was being wrongfully denied access to his rightful finances. The petition asserted that the assets in the fund total at least $1.5 million US. Notably, high-profile attorney Alan Jackson initially took on Reiner’s case but departed within a month without explanation. The filing further disclosed that Reiner’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, had initially agreed to cover their brother’s legal expenses before reversing their decision.
The legal overseer of the trust fund, Paul R. Kanin, and incoming trustee Jodi Pais Montgomery, both concurred in court documents that the uncertain outcome of Reiner’s criminal case necessitated withholding the funds for now. They emphasized that the trust fund cannot be accessed until the implications of Probate Code Section 250 and related “slayer statute” principles on Reiner’s entitlement are clarified.
As the case unfolds, with many details still undisclosed to the public and motives not speculated upon by authorities, the Reiner family continues to grapple with the aftermath of the tragic events. Jake Reiner, the eldest son, reflected in April on the profound impact of losing both parents simultaneously and the added strain of the legal proceedings involving his brother Nick.
