In Los Angeles, Nick Reiner, son of filmmaker Rob Reiner, is attempting to access money from a trust set up by his parents, arguing that he needs it to defend himself against accusations of their murder.
Attorneys for the 32-year-old filed a petition in Los Angeles County court on Monday, claiming that the trustees of the trust have unjustly withheld funds that Reiner requires and is entitled to at this time.
The petition asserts, “Nick deeply loved his parents and is heartbroken by their loss. However, the events surrounding their deaths are not the focus of this trust dispute.” The document emphasizes that, like any individual facing charges, Nick is presumed innocent and should be allowed to use his rightful resources for his defense.
Rob Reiner, a prominent director, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were tragically found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on December 14. Nick Reiner was arrested shortly thereafter and has entered a not guilty plea to two murder charges.
Initially, Nick had secured Alan Jackson, a high-profile attorney, for his defense. However, Jackson stepped down within a month, citing undisclosed reasons. The new court filing reveals that Nick’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, initially agreed to cover Jackson’s fees but later withdrew their support.
In a statement attached to the petition, Jackson expressed his willingness to continue representing Nick, provided that the necessary funds are made available.
The filing says that apart from the larger Reiner family trust, which is not at issue, Rob and Michele Reiner established smaller individual trusts for Nick Reiner and his siblings. It says they left “unambiguous instructions” in Nick Reiner’s trust, established in 1993, that he was to receive half its money when he turned 30 and the rest at 35.
But, the filing says, Reiner never received the funds he was entitled to at 30, and that the trustee overseeing them since February – attorney Paul R. Kanin – has given “a shifting series of excuses and justifications” to deny Reiner the money, including concerns about Reiner’s competence that have no bearing on a payout that is mandatory.
Reiner says he should also get the money he was to receive at 35 immediately because his defense and his need for basic necessities in jail require it.
The petition says the trust has at least $1.5 million in assets, but that Kanin will not share the exact amount of its value.
Kanin did not immediately respond to an after-hours email seeking comment.
Proceedings in Reiner’s murder case are moving slowly. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing in September. He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said his office has not yet decided whether to seek it.
Authorities have said nothing about possible motives, and leaks in the case have been virtually nonexistent on both sides. A court order has kept most details of the autopsy secret. Many of the most basic questions about the killing remain unanswered publicly.
On the day he left the case, Jackson, speaking outside court, declared adamantly that “pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”
In April, Jake Reiner gave his first detailed account of the experience of losing his parents and having his brother at the center of it, calling it “a living nightmare” that is “too devastating to comprehend.”
Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally… ,” during the production of which he met photographer Michele Singer. They wed soon after and were married for 36 years.
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