Nick Reiner <\/b>wants access to a $1.5 million trust fund his late parents, Rob Reiner <\/b><\/a>and Michele Singer Reiner<\/b><\/a>, set up for him \u2014 while awaiting trial for their deaths.<\/p>\n Nick was arrested in December 2025 for the alleged murders of Rob and Michele, pleading not guilty to the charges. Ahead of Nick\u2019s trial, he requested funds from the estate left behind by his parents that challenge a California statute designed to keep killers from cashing in on their victims.<\/p>\n Scroll down to learn more about the court request:<\/p>\n According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly<\/i><\/span><\/a>, Rob and Michele established a \u201csmaller, separate trust for [Nick\u2019s] individual benefit\u201d before their deaths. Under the terms, Nick was supposed to receive half of the fund \u201coutright\u201d when he turned 30, with the remaining balance distributed when he turned 35.<\/p>\n Nick, who turned 32 in September 2025, alleges he never received that first installment and does not know the full value of the trust \u2014 only that it exceeds $1.5 million.<\/p>\n Nick\u2019s petition claims that there have been \u201cmonths of repeated inquiries\u201d to the current trustee, who has responded with what the filing describes as \u201ca shifting series of excuses and justifications,\u201d including concerns about Nick\u2019s \u201ccompetence\u201d to manage the money. Nick\u2019s team further argues the trustee cannot legally withhold the funds because the trust is \u201cirrevocable\u201d and there has been \u201cno judicial declaration that Nick is incompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths,\u201d the probate petition reads. \u201cBut the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n The petition makes it clear that Nick wants to use the fund to pay for his criminal defense and deposit money into his commissary account.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stakes for Nick could not be higher,\u201d the filing states, alleging that he cannot pay for \u201cbasic necessities while incarcerated\u201d and cannot afford legal counsel.<\/p>\n Nick was previously represented by Alan Jackson<\/b>, who withdrew from the case in January 2026 after, court documents claim, \u201cthe anticipated funding did not materialize\u201d from the trust. He is now represented by a public defender.<\/p>\n The legal wrinkle here is California\u2019s so-called \u201cslayer rule.\u201d Rachael Bennett<\/b>, a certified family law specialist and senior attorney at Sullivan Law & Associates, broke down the issue on the \u201cLegally Us\u201d podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cThis request puts the trustee in a really difficult position, because really the situation is sitting at the intersection of trust law, and then we\u2019ve got the California slayer rule that\u2019s implicated now,\u201d Bennett, who has no ties to Nick\u2019s case, told Us<\/i><\/span><\/a> in June 2026. \u201cThe slayer rule prevents someone from inheriting from, or just financially profiting, if they intentionally killed the person that they would have otherwise inherited from.\u201d<\/p>\n Nick\u2019s team, meanwhile, is arguing the rule shouldn\u2019t apply because the trust predated the criminal charges.<\/p>\n \u201cReiner is now arguing that the money was already lawfully his before the criminal charges arose, and so therefore, the slayer statute doesn\u2019t prohibit him from inheriting it,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThis case is really going to test the limits of that slayer rule. It seems intrinsically wrong that Nick Reiner, if he\u2019s convicted of murder, could be given millions of dollars of his own parents\u2019 money to defend himself after brutally murdering them,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly the kind of, what I would call, perverse outcome that the slayer statutes are meant to prevent. \u2026 I would say here the fact that this was an already established trust, that\u2019s Reiner\u2019s loophole.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Basics of Nick Reiner\u2019s Trust Fund Petition<\/b><\/h2>\n
Why Nick Reiner Says He Needs the Money Now<\/b><\/h2>\n
Why Nick Reiner\u2019s Case Is Complicated<\/b><\/h2>\n
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