Nick Reiner seeks access to $1.6M trust while in jail
What's the story
Nick Reiner, the son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, has claimed that he hasn't received any money from his family trust while awaiting trial for his parents' deaths. The 33-year-old has been held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles since December last year and is fighting to access a family trust worth about $1.6 million, reported PEOPLE. The trust was established by Rob and Michele in 1993 and names Reiner as its sole beneficiary.
Legal proceedings
Reiner's attorneys filed 2 replies in court
Reiner's attorneys, Geoffrey A. Neri and Anita P. Wu, filed two replies in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, September 17.
The documents respond to objections raised by Jodi Pais Montgomery, the successor trustee, and Paul R. Kanin, the former trustee.
Reiner's attorneys argued that Reiner has been unable to access trust money for basic needs in jail or to hire private criminal defense counsel.
Trust dispute
'Nick still has not been able to access even $5'
Reiner's attorneys wrote, "In the meantime, Nick still has not been able to access even $5 from his trust to buy basic subsistence items from the jail commissary."
"Nick has been unable to access money that is lawfully his own, to re-engage criminal defense counsel, or even for basic subsistence items from the jail commissary."
Trust distribution
'Age-30 Distribution' dispute
The dispute centers on an "Age-30 Distribution," which the trust required to be paid when Reiner turned 30 on September 14, 2023.
His attorneys claim he was owed at least $558,000 on that date.
They argue this money should have been paid before his parents' deaths and therefore shouldn't be subject to California's Slayer Statute, which prevents individuals from profiting from a death they caused unlawfully.
Legal representation
Reiner indicted on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder
Reiner was indicted in July on two counts of first-degree murder, with special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and using a knife.
He faces potential sentences of up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Tuesday, September 15, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that prosecutors would not seek the death penalty against Reiner.
Initially represented by attorney Alan Jackson after his December 2025 arrest, Reiner is now defended by a public defender.
Legal expenses
Trustees' lawyers have incurred over $250,000 in fees?
The filings also question the amount the trustees are spending on the legal battle.
Reiner's attorneys claim the trustees' lawyers have already billed more than $250,000 in legal fees, which are being paid from the trust.
"Based on information provided by the Trustees' lawyers, it is Petitioner's understanding that the Trustees' counsel have already incurred more than a quarter of a million dollars in fees litigating these disputes against him, which they are paying themselves out of Nick's Trust."
Court request
Hearing on trust dispute scheduled for October 23
Reiner's attorneys are asking the court to release the Age-30 Distribution, including any additional money it earned while being withheld.
They also want the successor trustee to fund Reiner's commissary account and confirm that trust funds can be used to cover his criminal defense costs.
A hearing on the trust dispute is scheduled for October 23 before Judge Ruben Garcia at the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Stanley Mosk Courthouse.