Nick Reiner’s attorneys say he has been blocked from accessing a family trust worth roughly $1.6 million as he awaits trial in his parents’ killings.
The 32-year-old, held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles since December 2025, has repeatedly sought funds from the “Nick Reiner Children’s Trust Dated December 2, 1993,” which names him as its sole beneficiary. In two legal filings dated Thursday, attorneys Anita P. Wu and Geoffrey A. Neri responded to objections from successor trustee Jodi Pais Montgomery and former trustee Paul R. Kanin.
“Nick turned 30 on September 14, 2023. By the Successor Trustee’s own calculation, at least $558,000 became due and payable to him that day. His parents were alive. No one had accused him of anything,” the filing stated, per People. Wu and Neri argued that their client has been unable to “access even $5 from his trust” to purchase basic necessities through the jail commissary.
The attorneys further contended that efforts to obtain “money that is lawfully his own” have been delayed, leaving Nick without the ability to retain new criminal defense counsel. They pointed to the trust’s “Age-30 Distribution” provision, which they say entitled him to a substantial payment when he reached that milestone.
California’s “slayer statute,” which trustees previously cited as a basis for withholding Nick’s access, no longer applies to funds that became his before his parents’ deaths, the filing argued. “The ‘slayer statute,’ the sole remaining basis for withholding this money, takes away what a person receives as a result of someone’s death. It does not implicate money that became Nick’s years earlier,” it read.
In June, Nick filed a petition claiming he was entitled to receive half of the trust “outright when he turned 30,” with the remaining half set to be distributed when he turned 35, according to court filings. His request was blocked in August, with trustees invoking the slayer statute.
An attorney for Montgomery, Lauriann Wright, argued that under the statute, Nick’s portion of the trust would instead be transferred to his siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner. Although Nick is presumed innocent while awaiting trial, Wright contended that releasing the funds to him now would be “irreversible.”
Nick appeared in court Tuesday before Judge Sam Ohta, where the outlet observed that none of his family members were present. Notably, his aunt Annie Reiner was absent, despite previously attending hearings to support her nephew.
Rob and Michele were stabbed to death at their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14, at ages 78 and 70, respectively. Nick was initially identified as a person of interest before he was ultimately arrested in connection with their deaths. Nick will not face the death penalty if convicted.
Nick’s brother Jake has addressed the killings publicly, sharing what the outlet described as “rage” over his parents’ “infuriating” deaths and giving his first sit-down interview since testifying. The siblings also have a sister, Romy.
Nick’s next court appearance has not been publicly scheduled.