Nick Reiner seeks trust funds to pay defense lawyers in parents' murder case

Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of late director Rob Reiner, has petitioned a Los Angeles court to access trust funds his parents established for him, seeking money to pay lawyers defending him against charges that he stabbed both of them to death.

The petition asks a court to decide whether a murder defendant can draw on assets his alleged victims created for him — a legal fight running alongside a capital case whose pretrial hearing is set for September 2026.

Nick filed the petition Monday in Los Angeles County court, arguing that trustee Paul R. Kanin has unlawfully withheld funds mandatorily due under the terms of a 1993 trust, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Rob and Michele Reiner set up separate trusts for each of their three children; Nick's directed that he receive half the assets at age 30 and the rest at 35. He never received the distribution owed when he turned 30.

Rob Reiner, the director of films including "This Is Spinal Tap" and "A Few Good Men," and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, a photographer and producer, were stabbed to death at their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025. Nick was arrested hours after the killings and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He is eligible for the death penalty. ABC7 reported the trust holds at least $1.5 million.

In the petition, Nick's civil attorneys wrote: "Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths. But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation. Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defense with the resources that are lawfully his own."

Kanin has denied all funding requests since February 2026. High-profile attorney Alan Jackson, who initially represented Nick, left the case after siblings Jake and Romy Reiner reversed an earlier agreement to pay for his representation. A declaration from Jackson, included with the petition, states: "My firm stands ready, willing, and able to resume representation of Mr. Reiner if the funds become available," according to ABC7.

On the day he left the case, Jackson said outside court that "pursuant to the laws of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder." District Attorney Nathan Hochman has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for September 2026.

Rob and Michele Reiner were married for 36 years. In April, sibling Jake Reiner gave his first detailed public account of his parents' deaths, describing them as "a living nightmare that is too devastating to comprehend," according to ABC7.