LOS ANGELES — Nick Reiner, son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, is asking a court to use the trust set up by his parents to pay for his defense in the murder case he faces in their deaths.
Nick Reiner is charged with two counts of murder and has pleaded not guilty, The Associated Press reported.
The filmmaker and photographer were found stabbed to death in their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on Dec. 14.
No motive has been disclosed, KTTV reported.
Nick Reiner’s civil attorneys filed the request on Monday, claiming that the trustees overseeing the funds have denied distributing the funds and have not provided legal justification for not doing so, according to the AP.
The younger Reiner had hired Alan Jackson to represent him, but the attorney left the case after about a month for reasons he said he could not disclose.
His siblings at one point offered to pay for Jackson, but then changed their mind, this week’s legal filing said.
Jackson said in the petition, “my firm stands ready, willing, and able to resume representation of Mr. Reiner” if the money is available.
In addition to the personal trust for Nick Reiner, each sibling has their own fund, and there is a larger Reiner family trust as well.
As for Nick Reiner’s trust fund, his parents set the rule that he would get half the money when he turned 30 and the rest when he was 35. He is 32 years old.
“They were a commitment by Nick’s parents, in the most binding way the law of trusts allows, that these resources would belong to Nick, for his use and benefit,” Nick Reiner’s attorneys said in the case, NBC News reported.
Nick Reiner said he did not receive any money from the trust when he turned 30 and that the trustee overseeing the money since February has “a shifting series of excuses and justifications,” including Nick Reiner’s competence.
He said he should get all the money now because he needs it to pay for his defense and basic needs while in jail.
There is at least $1.5 million in assets in the trust, but the exact amount has not been shared by the trustee, Paul Kanin.
Kanin did not respond to a request for comment made by the AP.
Neither did Nick Reiner’s siblings nor attorneys in the trust case, NBC News reported.
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