Nick Reiner Seeks Trust Funds to Rehire Lawyer in 2-Murder Case

Q: Accused of murdering his parents, can a son legally use their fortune to fund his own defense?

Not automatically. In California, an accused son may try to access trust money before trial, but if a court finds he feloniously and intentionally killed his parents, the state’s Slayer Statute would bar him from benefiting from their estate or trust. That is the central issue in Nick Reiner’s petition. He argues his parents’ trust requires mandatory payouts at ages 30 and 35 and that the trustee has no discretion to withhold them. If the trust language truly makes those distributions unconditional, he may have a colorable claim to interim access unless and until a court blocks it. That is why he says he wants the money now: to rehire private counsel Alan Jackson. But California Probate Code section 250 is a major obstacle. It applies not just to wills, but also to trusts. A person who intentionally and feloniously kills the decedent is treated as having predeceased them, cutting off inheritance rights. Importantly, that determination does not always require a criminal conviction. A probate court can make its own finding under the lower civil standard of proof, preponderance of the evidence. So the answer is legally uncertain in the short term but likely no in the long term if the killing is proven. Until that happens, the fight turns on trust language, timing, and whether a probate judge freezes or releases funds. Even if Reiner remains indigent, he is still entitled to a public defender and, if mental condition is a major issue, state-funded psychiatric assistance.

3 articles · Updated · TheWrap · Jun 9

A 136-page petition says Nick Reiner is owed trust money from his late parents and wants it released to bring back defense attorney Alan Jackson.
The filing says the trust required half the funds to be distributed when Reiner turned 30 and the rest by 35, but the trustee still has not released them.
Alan Jackson withdrew on Jan. 7 after expected funding failed to materialize, and the Public Defender’s Office took over; the petition says Jackson is ready to resume if paid.
Reiner, 32, is charged with the Dec. 14 stabbing deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, has pleaded not guilty, and is due back in court on Sept. 15.