Nick Reiner has reiterated his demand for access to his family’s trust fund in a Friday declaration, obtained and reviewed by TheWrap. The document argues that a portion of the fund became “due and payable” to Reiner upon turning 30 years old and that he hadn’t been informed by a prior trustee that the sum was owed to him.
Reiner is charged with the murder of his parents, filmmaker Rob Reiner and producer Michele Reiner, who were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood, Calif. residence Dec. 14. Reiner has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In his new filing, Reiner argues that he did not give “consent to any Trustee of my Trust to withhold, defer or retain” his distribution that unlocked at the age of 30, estimated at the value of $558,000.
In a response objecting to Reiner’s petition, also obtained and reviewed by TheWrap, the defense argues that Paul Kanin, a former successor trustee, cannot act against the new trustee, Jodie Pais Montgomery, because he no longer controls the trust’s assets. The document also argues that Reiner’s allegations of misconduct mischaracterize “ordinary, necessary features of trust administration and succession.”
“Nick’s sense of urgency is real, but it did not arise in a vacuum,” argues the objection. “It arises from the deaths of his parents, the very settlors of the Trust at issue, and Nick is presently accused of causing those deaths. While Nick is presumed innocent of that accusation (and nothing in this Response and Objection should be read to suggest otherwise), no one, not this Court, nor the parties, knows how the criminal proceedings against Nick will ultimately resolve. A trustee administering a trust under that uncertainty is bound by the same fiduciary obligations as any trustee.”
The objection also cites California’s “slayer statue”, which states that a person who kills a decedent is not entitled to property. The filing argues that Montgomery has a responsibility to Jake Reiner and Romy Reiner, Nick’s siblings, as “contingent remainder beneficiaries.”
In a statement to the New York Times, Anita P. Wu, a lawyer for Nick Reiner, argued that, “The slayer statute requires a determination, not a mere accusation. Nick is presumed innocent and has been convicted of nothing.”
Reiner had previously been represented by Alan Jackson, a high-profile Los Angeles attorney whose prior clients include Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. However, Jackson withdrew from the case earlier this year. In prior petitions, Reiner has argued that the lawyer’s departure happened after “funding did not materialize.”
The case around Reiner’s trust fund continues Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Reiner is scheduled for a Sept. 15. pretrial hearing in his murder case.
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