LOS ANGELES, CA — Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of acclaimed director Rob Reiner charged with murdering his parents, filed a court petition Monday seeking access to his $1.5 million trust fund to pay for his legal defense after losing his high-profile attorney.
The petition, filed in Los Angeles County probate court, argues that trustees have unlawfully withheld mandatory payments from a trust established by Rob and Michele Reiner in 1993. Nick Reiner has been held without bail since December on two counts of capital murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents at their Brentwood home. He pleaded not guilty and is currently represented by a public defender after his siblings withdrew financial support for private counsel.
According to court documents, Rob Reiner, 78, and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood residence on December 14. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later. The petition states that each of the Reiners’ three children received individual trusts separate from the larger family estate. “Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths,” the filing states. “But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation.” The trust was designed with “unambiguous instructions” requiring Nick to receive half the funds at age 30 and the remainder at 35, according to his attorneys Anita Wu and Geoffrey Neri.
The filing reveals that Nick Reiner never received the distribution he was entitled to when he turned 30 in 2023. Current trustee Paul Kanin, who assumed oversight in February, has allegedly provided “a shifting series of excuses and justifications” for withholding the funds, including concerns about Reiner’s competence. The petition argues these concerns are irrelevant to mandatory distributions outlined in the trust. “Given the present circumstances, it is an abuse of the Trustee’s discretion to refuse those requests,” the document states. “Nick is currently awaiting trial on double homicide charges. No use of his funds could be more important.” A new trustee, fiduciary Jodi Montgomery, was recently appointed to take over administration and has retained a consultant to evaluate how to “best help Nick with what limited trust funds he does have.”
Nick Reiner was initially represented by high-profile criminal defense attorney Alan Jackson, who has represented Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. However, Jackson withdrew from the case in January after Nick’s siblings, Jake Reiner, 34, and Romy Reiner, 28, reversed their decision to fund his defense. According to the petition, Jackson had been assured by the siblings and a family representative that his fees would be covered, but was told in late December that funding would not be available. In a declaration included with the petition, Jackson stated his firm “stands ready, willing, and able to resume representation of Mr. Reiner” if funds become available. Nick Reiner has been forced to rely on a Los Angeles County public defender since Jackson’s departure.
The case has moved slowly through the courts, with Nick Reiner’s next scheduled appearance set for September. Sources familiar with the investigation told multiple outlets that Nick had struggled with addiction for years and had been prescribed medication to treat schizophrenia before the killings. Family friends reported that Rob and Nick got into an argument at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party just hours before the murders, with many guests noticing Nick acting strangely. Nick had been living in a guesthouse on his parents’ property, and Michele had become increasingly concerned about his mental health in the weeks before her death, according to a family friend. He had entered rehabilitation facilities more than a dozen times since age 14.
Under California’s “slayer statute,” Nick Reiner would be barred from inheriting any portion of his parents’ estate if convicted of their murders. However, the petition argues he is entitled to a presumption of innocence and suggests the larger family trusts could be subject to future litigation. The current trustee has made clear that no part of the larger Reiner family trusts will be disbursed to Nick until after the criminal case concludes. District Attorney Nathan Hochman has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty. Authorities have released virtually no details about possible motives, and most autopsy information remains under court seal. In April, Jake Reiner described the aftermath as “a living nightmare” that is “too devastating to comprehend.”
Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally.” He met Michele Singer during production of the latter film, and they married soon after, remaining together for 36 years. The couple was found in their upscale Brentwood home, where they had lived for decades. The petition emphasizes that Nick Reiner is seeking only funds from his individual trust, not access to the “far larger” family estate. “The stakes for Nick could not be higher,” the document states. “There is no justification for withholding anything in the interim beyond small sums for trust administration.”
Nick Reiner remains held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles as his case proceeds through the court system. His next pretrial hearing is scheduled for September, with many fundamental questions about the killings still unanswered publicly.
