Trustees have blocked Nick Reiner’s access to his late parents’ $1.5 million trust fund in a bid to fund his defense in the slayings of filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, citing California’s “slayer statute.”
Trust fiduciary Jodi Pais Montgomery opposed Mr. Reiner’s request in court papers, noting that California’s slayer statute bars a person who “feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent” from inheriting property or trust benefits tied to that person.
A lawyer for Ms. Montgomery wrote that the funds would instead be transferred to Mr. Reiner’s siblings, Romy and Jake Reiner, and that releasing the money now would be irreversible.
Mr. Reiner, 32, sought access to the trust in June, arguing he should have received half of the sum when he turned 30 in September 2023. The Reiners established the fund for him in 1993, the year he was born.
Mr. Reiner wanted the funds to help rehire attorney Alan Jackson, who stepped away from his defense in January, and to cover legal and commissary expenses.
His attorney, Anita P. Wu, told The New York Times that “the slayer statute requires a determination, not a mere accusation” and that Mr. Reiner is presumed innocent.
He has pleaded not guilty to murder charges stemming from his parents’ stabbing deaths at their Los Angeles home in December 2025 and remains in custody.
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