Nick Reiner is rapidly approaching his trial date, facing charges of allegedly murdering his renowned Hollywood parents. In a bid to fund his legal defense, he is scrambling to access his $1.63 million trust fund, but his efforts are being thwarted by his siblings, according to Daily Mail sources.
Jake and Romy Reiner have joined forces to prevent Nick from depleting his inheritance to cover legal fees.
“It’s not about whether they care for him or not; it’s about setting boundaries on what someone can take from you,” a close family friend of the Reiners revealed to the Daily Mail.
The friend added, “They find the idea of the inheritance being used for Nick’s defense unbearable. They are determined to stop it if they can.”
Now 32, Nick has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of murdering his parents. Prosecutors allege he fatally stabbed his father, acclaimed director Rob Reiner, aged 78, and his mother, photographer-producer Michele, 70, within the confines of their Brentwood residence on December 14.
His legal team filed a probate petition in June to give Nick access to his trust fund, claiming his siblings backed out of an initial verbal agreement to pay for his legal defense.
During a Monday hearing in a downtown LA courtroom, Nick’s attorney, Anita Wu, said there have been multiple delays to resolving Nick’s petition.
‘The trust is being consumed and depleted by attorneys’ fees with all of this delay and work,’ Wu said, arguing that attorneys for the trust are spending Nick’s money to keep him from accessing it.
Nick Reiner was indicted on two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, murder by means of lying in wait and use of a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty
The Reiner family, with siblings Jake (center), Romy and Nick, pictured together in 2014
Rob and Michelle were discovered dead in their home in California in December 2025
Jake, 34, and Romy, 28, have not responded to Nick’s petition, which Wu claimed has caused even more delays.
‘More than $200,000 has been spent to try to block my client’s petition by hiring attorneys to fight the same petition. The clock is running out on his defense. This is something that cannot continue to wait,’ she claimed.
Wu argued Nick should have received the first payment from the trust, which was set up in 1993 by Rob and Michele, two years ago when Nick turned 30.
Attorneys who represent the trust, however, have filed an opposition to Nick’s petition, citing a California law known as the ‘Slayer Statute,’ which says a person cannot be paid the funds if they killed the person who established the trust.
The judge set the next hearing on the trust petition matter for October 23. In the meantime, Nick is scheduled to appear back in criminal court for a pretrial conference on September 15.
Nick is facing two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, murder by means of lying in wait and use of a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sources close to the Reiner family told the Daily Mail that while Jake and Romy have not written off their troubled brother entirely, they have drawn hard lines in the sand.
‘I wouldn’t say [they] abandoned him for good. I’d say that they are setting boundaries that are appropriate for their healing, and Nick is not a part of their healing,’ the family friend said.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Romy (left) and Jake (right) continue to distance themselves from their trouble brother Nick (center) as he fights for access to his trust fund money, which he wants to use for his defense
The deaths of Rob and Michele rocked Hollywood. They were found with their throats slit in their $13.5 million Brentwood mansion (above) in December
Another family source said Jake and Romy are remaining firm on cutting off their brother from access to the trust.
‘Their parents never turned their backs on their kids and were the best parents,’ the source said.
‘[Rob and Michele] would do anything for their kids but Romy and Jake, who are extremely close and similar, are not budging about helping their brother access the trust. And who would blame them?’
The Daily Mail understands that Tracy, the trio’s older half-sister, was also OK with Nick being cut off from his inheritance.
‘You know people usually fight about money when parents die, but there has been no issues between Tracy, Romy and Jake,’ another source told the Daily Mail.
‘Tracy got a lot of her mom’s money, so she’s doing well. She wanted more sentimental items, not money.’
Tracy, 61, who is Rob’s adopted daughter from a previous marriage with actress-director Penny Marshall, is remaining supportive of Jake and Romy’s decision to cut Nick off from his trust fund.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Romy, Jake and Tracy for comment.
Nick was set to receive the entire $1.63 million trust when he turned 35, according to his petition. He was allowed to access $558,000 when he turned 30, but he decided not to touch that money, his lawyers said in the court document.
Alan Jackson (center) appeared alongside Nick Reiner’s probate attorney Anita Wu, who said there have been multiple delays on his petition to access his trust. Jackson has said he wants to rejoin Nick’s defense team
Lawyers representing a fiduciary, Jodi Montgomery, who is overseeing the trust, said in an August 11 court filing that the outcome of Nick’s upcoming trial ‘will determine who is entitled to the Trust Estate, and an interim distribution would be irreversible.’
‘The disputed property is therefore ‘reasonably in dispute,’ and the governing framework supports the Trustee’s decision to preserve it rather than pay it out.’
On Monday, Wu said Montgomery had agreed to fund $300 for Nick’s commissary and past legal bills when defense attorney Alan Jackson was representing him.
Jackson, a high-profile attorney who has represented Karen Read, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, had previously represented Nick before dropping out as his counsel in January, citing ‘circumstances beyond our control.’
Jackson, who stood next to Wu during Monday’s hearing, said he would rejoin Nick’s defense team if the trust issue could be resolved.
The attorney told reporters that Nick’s access to the funds is ‘time sensitive.’
‘He’s made a determination that he wants to be able to use his funds that are in his trust account to decide on his criminal counsel,’ Jackson said. ‘When he is allowed to do that, he will be able to defend himself in the way the Constitution he should and can defend himself.
‘That’s why this litigation is going forward. It’s about Nick Reiner’s money and I think today was an example of the trustee simply obstructing and not allowing Nick immediate access to funds to which he is entitled to.’