Man accused of killing parents seeks release of $1.5 million trust for legal defense
Nick Reiner, charged with the murders of his parents, has filed a petition in Los Angeles to access a $1.5 million trust fund that his parents established for him.
Attorneys for 32-year-old Nick Reiner filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday requesting that a trust fund of more than $1.5 million, created by his parents in 1993, be released to him. The petition says the trust, which is separate from the family’s larger estate trust, was intended to provide Reiner with half of its assets at age 30 and the remainder at age 35, and that the trustee has not complied with those terms.
Reiner, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in the December killings of his parents, Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, argues that the funds are needed to pay for his criminal defense and for basic expenses while incarcerated. The filing notes that his former private counsel withdrew because he could not afford to continue, leaving Reiner with a public defender.
"Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own," the petition states.
The petition also contends that the trustee’s refusal to release the money constitutes an abuse of discretion, given the pending homicide trial. Reiner’s siblings and his current attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
If the court grants the petition, the trustee would be required to disburse the remaining trust assets to Reiner in accordance with the original instructions left by his parents.