Judge delays decision on Nick Reiner's trust fund access until October

A California court has postponed a decision on whether Nick Reiner, 32, can access more than $500,000 from a family trust fund to pay for his legal defense. The hearing was continued to Oct. 23, with any mediation to follow at least two weeks later.

Reiner is charged with the stabbing deaths of his parents, director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, in December. He argues that the funds belong to him and should be available for his defense.

The trust’s financial steward cited the state’s “slayer statute,” which bars a person who intentionally kills a beneficiary from receiving that beneficiary’s assets. The steward said Reiner is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but warned that distributing the money now could make recovery impossible if a conviction follows.

Reiner’s civil attorney, Anita Wu, asked Judge Ruben Garcia for a Breslin order to compel mediation, hoping to settle the matter privately. Garcia, whose docket is full until January, said he is prioritizing the case and scheduled the October hearing.

"I am very pleased Judge Garcia ... is giving this case priority by putting it on the calendar as early as he possibly can," said former defense lawyer Alan Jackson, who withdrew from the case in January due to funding issues.

"Nick Reiner is very much entitled to his own money, his own funds," Jackson added.

Jackson said he would be willing to return as Reiner’s counsel if asked. Reiner remains in custody without bond, with a pre-trial hearing set for Sept. 15 and no trial date yet assigned.