Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of late actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, has filed a petition to access his trust fund to pay for his legal defence. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents in December last year. Nick has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
The trust, established in 1993, holds more than $1.5 million intended for Nick's sole benefit. His lawyers argue that he should have received half of the money on his 30th birthday in 2023 but did not. They claim the trustee, Paul Kanin, has been withholding funds, causing irreparable harm to Nick's defence. Kanin is stepping down this month and will be replaced by Jodi Montgomery, a professional fiduciary known for her role in Britney Spears' conservatorship.
Nick's attorneys, Anita Wu and Geoffrey Neri, state that he is 'devastated' by his parents' deaths but is presumed innocent and entitled to use his own resources for his defence. They say he is currently unable to fund his case and that delays prejudice his defence. The petition also notes that Nick was placed in a mental health conservatorship in 2020, which ended in 2021.
