Nick Reiner renews fight for trust fund ahead of murder trial
latimes.com • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Nick Reiner, charged with murdering his parents Rob and Michele Reiner, is seeking over $558,000 from their trust fund while awaiting trial, but the trust managers have withheld the funds citing legal and procedural concerns.
- The trust’s successor trustee, Paul Kanin, resigned amid disputes and delays in disbursing funds, complicated by California’s slayer statute, which bars inheritance by individuals accused of killing the trustmakers.
- Reiner denies consenting to withholding the funds and argues he needs the money to mount his defense, but attorneys contend his incarceration and state-provided legal representation negate the necessity for trust-funded defense expenses.
- Legal representatives for the trust emphasize that unresolved legal issues, including the slayer statute, justify the delay in distribution and that the trust has no obligation to finance Reiner’s choice of private counsel.
- The probate court battle continues, with hearings scheduled for September, but no trial date set for Reiner’s murder case.
