Nick Reiner seeks access to $1.5 million trust fund to pay for parents' murder defense: Details here

The son of director Rob Reiner and photographer and film producer Michele Singer Reiner is now reportedly seeking access to more than $1.5 million in trust funds his parents left him to help pay for his defense after he was charged with double murder.

Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty

Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of his parents, 78-year-old Rob Reiner and 70-year-old Michele Singer Reiner, who were found stabbed to death in the bedroom of their Brentwood home on December 14 of last year. Paramedics discovered the couple around 3:40 p.m., although prosecutors said they had been killed earlier in the morning.

Reiner was arrested later that day around 9:15 p.m. in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, roughly 25 miles from his parents’ residence. Video obtained by NBC Los Angeles showed officers approaching him as he crossed the street before taking him into custody.

He faces two counts of murder along with a charge of special circumstances involving multiple murders. Prosecutors also alleged he used a deadly weapon, identified as a knife. If convicted, the special charges and circumstances could lead to a more severe sentence.

What does Nick Reiner’s petition say?

On Monday (local time), attorneys for Nick Reiner filed a detailed request in a Los Angeles court to access his trust, which he should have obtained two years ago, NBC News reported Tuesday. The petition said Reiner, 32, was denied access despite “unambiguous instructions” left by his parents to pay out funds in the trust, which was set up in 1993.

In the petition, his lawyers wrote: “Nick loved his parents and is devastated by their deaths. But the facts of what happened to them and what did not happen to them are not in this Trust dispute.” It added: “Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent and has the right to defend himself with resources that are legally his own.”

Nick Reiner seeks access to trust fund

According to the petition, Reiner was entitled to half of the trust when he turned 30 and was to receive the rest when he turned 35, distributions his lawyers described as “mandatory and unconditional.”

It further stated that the trust constituted an undertaking by Nick’s parents that the funds would belong to him for his use and benefit.

The petition alleges that despite the trust holding more than $1.5 million, every dollar of which is intended solely for Nick’s benefit and should have been released to him two years ago, “the trustee still has not released the money that was supposed to be repaid on his 30th birthday or even told Nick the amount.”

Additionally, she noted, “Under the current circumstances, it is an abuse of the Trustee’s authority to deny these requests,” adding, “Nick is currently awaiting trial on charges of double murder. No use of his funds could be more important.”

Reiner was also unable to pay for what he needed while in prison or for criminal counsel.