Nick Reiner claims he hasn’t received money from his family trust for the jail commissary.
Nick Reiner wants to access family trust
The 33-year-old screenwriter – who is awaiting trial for the deaths of his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner – has been detained at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles since December 2025 and is fighting to access a family trust worth around $1.6 million.
The Nick Reiner Children’s Trust dated December 2, 1993, was established by his parents and names Nick as its sole beneficiary and his attorneys have argued that he needs money from the trust for basic needs in jail and to hire a legal team.
Nick’s attorneys Anita P. Wu and Geoffrey A said in a court filing, obtained by PEOPLE: “Nick Reiner is the sole beneficiary of a trust his parents created for him in 1993 (the ‘Trust’ or ‘Nick’s Trust’), when he was an infant. It holds roughly $1.6 million. He sits in custody awaiting trial on double-homicide charges that carry life without the possibility of parole, defended by the Los Angeles County Public Defender at public expense – not because he cannot afford a lawyer of his own, but because the Trustees of his Trust will not release his money to him.
“Nick has been unable to access money that is lawfully his own — to re-engage counsel, or even for basic subsistence items from the jail commissary.
“In the meantime, Nick still has not been able to access even $5 from his trust to buy basic subsistence items from the jail commissary.”
The attorneys also claim that due to an “Age-30 Distribution” clause in the trust, Nick should have been paid out at least $558,000 on September 14, 2023, when he turned 30.
They argue as Nick’s parents were still alive at the time, he is owed that money.
They said in the filing: “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 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.”
Filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles home in December 2025.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman previously confirmed that Nick, who has been accused of murdering his parents, won’t face the death penalty.
Hochman told NBC News: “After a careful and thorough review of all these factors, the district attorney’s office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case.
“That means that the maximum sentence that Mr. Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole.”
Rob and Michele were well-known death penalty abolitionists, and Hochman confirmed that he recently discussed the issue with Jake and Romy Reiner.
He said: “We did speak with Nick Reiner’s siblings, and they made their views very clear. We took their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.”
