Nick Reiner files petition for trust money to fund defense

Nick Reiner, the son of acclaimed director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, has filed a petition in Los Angeles County court seeking access to a trust fund his parents established for him, arguing he needs the money to pay for his legal defense and basic necessities while he awaits trial for their murders. The petition was filed on Monday, June —, 2026.

Reiner, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents at their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025. He has pleaded not guilty. The new civil filing contends that a trust set up by Rob and Michele Reiner in 1993 mandates that he receive half its assets upon turning 30 and the remainder at 35. According to the petition, he has not received the distribution due at age 30, which was two years ago.

The document states that the current trustee, attorney Paul R. Kanin, has provided a shifting series of justifications for withholding the funds, including unsubstantiated concerns about Reiner’s competence to manage the trust. Reiner’s legal team argues these concerns are irrelevant to a payout they describe as mandatory and unconditional under the trust’s terms. They estimate the trust holds...