Nick Reiner‘s petition to access the $1.5 million trust fund, as he faces murder charges in his parents’ killings, has been blocked by trustees.
Reiner, 32, has been indicted for the murders of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, in their Brentwood home in December 2025. He pleaded not guilty to the initial murder charges in February as well as to the new charges added on Wednesday and remains in custody in L.A.
He filed a probate petition in June to access some of the trust, which his late parents established, to rehire powerhouse attorney Alan Jackson to defend him in his upcoming criminal trial. Jackson withdrew from his legal defense in January, and Reiner was later assigned a public defender.
In new court papers, obtained by The New York Times, a professional fiduciary overseeing the fund opposed Reiner’s request, citing the “slayer statute,” a California law that prevents a “person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent” from inheriting “any property, interest, or benefit under a will of the decedent, or a trust created by or for the benefit of the decedent.”
“California has enacted no exception permitting a killer’s inheritance to be used for criminal defense costs,” Lauriann Wright, a lawyer for the professional fiduciary, Jodi Pais Montgomery, wrote in the filings.
Wright also wrote that the funds would be transferred to Nick’s siblings, Romy and Jake Reiner, under the “slayer statute.” She added that although Reiner is presumed innocent pending the trial, releasing the funds now would be “irreversible.”
Anita P. Wu, an attorney for Mr. Reiner, wrote in a statement to the Times, rejecting the claim that the California law applies in this case. “The slayer statute requires a determination, not a mere accusation,” she wrote. “Nick is presumed innocent and has been convicted of nothing.”
In Reiner’s June petition, he stated that a portion of the trust was to be distributed to him on his 30th birthday and the remaining funds at age 35. He claimed he did not receive any distribution when he turned 30 in 2023, according to the filing.
Reiner’s next scheduled court appearance is on Sept. 15.
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