Key facts
- Attorneys for Nick Reiner are seeking access to his $1.5 million trust fund.
- Nick Reiner is charged with the murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner.
- California's "slayer statute" is a legal barrier to accessing the trust funds.
- The trust was established by his parents in 1993.
- Trustees have already used $200,000 of the funds for their legal fees.
- A hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 23.
Attorneys for Nick Reiner are pressing a California court to grant him access to a $1.5 million trust fund established by his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and producer-photographer Michele Reiner, to pay for his defense against murder charges. Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty to two counts of stabbing his parents to death, who were found deceased in their Los Angeles home in December.
A financial representative overseeing the trust stated that funds cannot be released due to California's "slayer statute," which prohibits individuals from inheriting from someone they intentionally killed. Nick Reiner's attorney, Anita Wu, argued at a Los Angeles Superior Court hearing that he should have started receiving payments from the trust upon turning 30. She expressed concern that the trust is being depleted by legal fees, noting that trustees have already taken $200,000 for their own legal expenses in the case.
Reiner was not present at the hearing. Judge Ruben Garcia has scheduled a subsequent hearing for October 23. High-profile attorney Alan Jackson, who previously represented Reiner in the criminal case before Reiner was unable to afford his counsel, is now assisting the probate attorneys. Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse that Reiner is entitled to his own money to select his own criminal defense attorney, rather than relying on a public defender.