Nick Reiner asks court to unlock $1.5m trust fund for his defence in parents' murder case

The petition

Nick Reiner, the youngest son of the late filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, filed a 136-page petition on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking access to a trust fund worth at least $1.5 million. The trust, known as the Nick Reiner Children's Trust, was established in 1993 as part of a broader estate plan that included three trusts for the couple's children. According to the filing, the trust contains unambiguous instructions that half the money should have been distributed to Nick when he turned 30, with the remainder payable at age 35.

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.

Nick Reiner turned 30 in September 2023, but the petition states he never received the initial $750,000 payment. His legal team argues the distributions are mandatory and unconditional, and that the trustee has offered a shifting series of excuses to withhold the funds.

The trustee's position

Paul R. Kanin, the current trustee, has resisted releasing the money. In an email attached to the filing, his lawyer Stefanie Cutler wrote that an immediate outright distribution was not appropriate given unresolved concerns about Nick's capacity to make sound decisions and protect his own interests. The petition claims Kanin and incoming trustee Jodi Montgomery have conditioned any release on Nick meeting with them or with a criminal consultant hired at trust expense.

We do not agree that an immediate outright distribution is appropriate, given unresolved concerns the Successor Trustee has regarding Nick's capacity to make sound decisions and adequately protect his own interests.

The petition counters that conditioning the release of money already due exceeds any legitimate fiduciary diligence under the trust. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for August 17 before Judge Ruben Garcia.

The criminal case

Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for multiple killings and the use of a knife. He has pleaded not guilty and remains held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty, though California rarely carries out executions.

Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025, the first day of Hanukkah. The coroner determined both died from multiple sharp-force injuries. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later, miles from the residence where he had been living with his parents for several weeks.

Legal representation in flux

Nick Reiner was initially represented by prominent Los Angeles attorney Alan Jackson, known for high-profile cases. Jackson withdrew from the case in January, citing circumstances beyond his control. The petition states that the inability to access trust funds left Nick unable to pay Jackson's fees. Since then, a public defender has represented him. The filing indicates Nick wishes to rehire Jackson and needs the trust money to do so.

Every additional week of delay is a week in which the counsel of his choice cannot investigate or prepare on his behalf — prejudice to his defense that cannot be undone.

Beyond legal fees, the petition says Nick needs funds for basic commissary items such as socks, soap, and hygiene products. His criminal case is next expected to be addressed in September.

Family and background

Nick Reiner is one of three children Rob and Michele Reiner had together; Rob Reiner also adopted a child during his first marriage. In April, Nick's brother Jake Reiner posted an emotional tribute, calling their parents' deaths almost too impossible to process. Nick Reiner has a documented history of serious mental illness and drug addiction, including diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, and was placed in a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020.