Nick Reiner, 32, faces two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the December 2025 killings of his parents, acclaimed filmmaker Rob Reiner and philanthropist Michele Singer Reiner, at their Brentwood home. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains in custody.
A separate legal battle has simultaneously unfolded over his access to money his parents left in trust—money he claims was already legally his before his parents’ deaths.
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This dispute raises an unusual legal question: Does it matter when an individual’s right to trust money technically “vested” if the money hasn’t actually been paid out yet?
According to Sean R. Weissbart, partner and co-chair of the Tax, Benefits, and Private Client Practice Group at Blank Rome, “Nick’s access to his trust may depend on the outcome of the criminal proceeding, but even without a full acquittal, Nick still might be able to access his trust for two reasons. First, Nick became entitled to a trust distribution when he turned age 30, two years before the death of his parents, but the trustees never made the distribution. Nick can argue that the amount required to be distributed to him became his property, and the slayer statute can’t claw back assets already “owned” by someone.
“Additionally, even if a court determined Nick killed his parents, the slayer statute only applies to intentional murder. So, if Nick can successfully mount an insanity defense, his trust may be his to enjoy,” Weissbart added.
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"Can Trustees Block Nick Reiner’s Trust Fund Access?" by Anna Sulkin Stern was published in Wealth Management on August 19, 2026.