Nick Reiner Seeks Access to Parents' Trust Fund for Murder Defense

On Monday, attorneys for Nick Reiner filed a petition in Los Angeles probate court requesting disbursement of a trust fund exceeding $1.5 million that was established by his parents when he was an infant. The filing seeks funds to retain private counsel and to cover basic commissary items while Reiner remains incarcerated at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. The petition argues that the money is “lawfully his own” and therefore available for his defense.

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Nick Reiner, 32, is the younger son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. He has been charged with the murder of both parents and has entered a not-guilty plea. At present, a public defender represents him in the criminal case, and he is detained in a downtown Los Angeles county jail.

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• Nick Reiner – Defendant, trust beneficiary.

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• Rob Reiner – Father, deceased Hollywood director.

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• Michele Singer Reiner – Mother, deceased.

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• Anita Wu – Attorney for Reiner in the financial dispute.

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• Paul Kanin – Lawyer for the trust’s appointed representative.

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• Unnamed trust representative – Manager of the specific trust separate from larger family trusts.

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• Public defender – Current criminal-defense counsel.

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The trust, created when Reiner was a baby, stipulates that half of the principal should have been paid on his 30th birthday, with the remainder due at age 35. Court documents indicate that Reiner never received the initial half-payment. The petition contends that, without access to the trust, he cannot afford private legal representation or essential items such as socks and soap.

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The request highlights the intersection of trust law and criminal-defense rights. If granted, the disbursement would allow a defendant presumed innocent to secure private counsel, a resource typically unavailable to indigent defendants. Conversely, the trust’s terms and the representative’s refusal raise questions about the enforceability of beneficiary rights when the beneficiary faces serious criminal allegations.

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Anita Wu wrote in the petition: “Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own.”

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Paul Kanin, representing the trust’s manager, responded by rejecting Reiner’s demand for immediate access to the funds.

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The trust’s appointed representative has not provided comment to reporters. Kanin’s email, attached to the filing, indicates that the trust manager opposes an expedited release, citing the original distribution schedule.

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• The filing does not explain why the initial half-payment at age 30 was never made.

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• No comment has been obtained from the trust’s representative.

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• Details of the murder case beyond the charges and plea are absent from the petition documents.

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> “Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own.” — Anita Wu, attorney

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The probate court will review the petition and determine whether the trust’s terms can be overridden to fund Reiner’s defense. Simultaneously, the criminal case proceeds, with Reiner maintaining his not-guilty plea while awaiting a decision on the trust-fund request.

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