Nick Reiner has asked a court to allow him access to a trust fund set up by his parents. He intends to use the funds to defend himself against charges that he killed them. Reiner argues the money was owed to him long before the slayings, according to recently released court filings.
Reiner, 32, seeks $558,000 from the trust, which was meant to be disbursed three years ago. He plans to rehire attorney Alan Jackson for his defense against allegations that he killed Rob and Michele Reiner in their Brentwood home last December. Jackson had previously withdrawn from the case, with the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office taking over representation.
The legal filing states that denying Reiner access to the funds is unconstitutional. Reiner claims it prevents a “presumed-innocent man” from using his “own untainted money” for his defense. NBC reported the filing on Monday night.
Reiner began his court battle for the trust earlier this year. Managers of the trust claim he is barred from accessing the funds under California’s Slayer statute. This law prevents individuals from inheriting or profiting from their crimes. Reiner argues the statute does not apply because he has not been convicted, and the funds were owed to him on his 30th birthday in September 2023, long before his parents died.
“This case is not about the far larger Reiner family trusts, which hold the assets of Nick’s parents’ estate and the inheritances they left their children,” his attorneys stated. “This case is about money Nick’s parents separately set aside for him alone and made irrevocable, to be paid to him on two fixed dates: one-half at 30, and the balance at 35.”
Reiner allegedly stabbed his parents on the night of December 14. He was apprehended in Exposition Park about 12 hours after his sister, Romy, found the bodies. A grand jury indicted Reiner on murder charges last month, with allegations of laying in wait to ambush his parents. Prosecutors have not provided details about a possible motive.
Reiner has pleaded not guilty and may face life imprisonment if convicted. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman will not seek the death penalty at trial. The hearing for access to the trust fund will be on October 23.
Joshua Ritter, a former L.A. County prosecutor, expressed that Reiner’s understanding of the slayer law might be accurate. He questioned whether the trust could have other protections due to Reiner’s documented drug and mental health issues.
“The guy was a total wreck,” Ritter stated. “You would imagine they built a trust with discretion.”