Nick Reiner is demanding access to his more than $1.5 million trust to cover legal fees as he faces charges for allegedly murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
In a petition filed in California probate court Monday (June 8), Nick claimed that a trust his parents set up for him when he was a kid contained “unambiguous instructions about when the funds” were to be released. The first half was supposed to be “distributed to Nick outright when he turned 30,” per the petition, while the rest of the funds were to be issued when he turned 35.
“These distributions are mandatory and unconditional,” the petition states.
But, according to Nick, he did not receive any money when he turned 30 in 2023, nor has he been able to secure the release of any funds since. He claims that the current trustee, Paul Kanin, has “offered a shifting series of excuses and justifications” to withhold the funds. These include, the petition claims, “unsubstantiated ‘concerns’ about Nick’s so-called competence to ‘manage a trust.’”
Kanin has allegedly insisted that, before any funds are released, Nick meet with either him or his successor, Jodi Montgomery, to assess whether Nick can exercise good judgment over matters related to the trust. Montgomery has also allegedly said she wants Nick to meet with a “criminal consultant” she’s hired to discuss his case. (The petition further alleges that Montgomery has already hired a consultant to advise her, “presumably at Nick’s expense,” using money from the trust.)
Kanin and Montgomery did not immediately return requests for comment.
The petition argues that “conditioning” the release of money that should’ve already been paid to Nick when he turned 30 “exceeds any legitimate fiduciary diligence under the trust.” The petition further stated Nick’s exact reasons for wanting the money: to cover “his legal expenses,” and so he can “buy basic support items,” like socks and hygiene products, and the jail commissary.
“Given the present circumstances, it is an abuse of the Trustee’s discretion to refuse those requests. Nick is currently awaiting trial on double homicide charges. No use of his funds could be more important,” the petition states.
The petition further notes that Nick would use the money from his trust to re-hire the prominent defense attorney Alan Jackson. Jackson was originally slated to represent Nick in the criminal proceedings, but he abruptly stepped down in January, citing “circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control.” (Nick has since been working with a public defender.)
According to a declaration Jackson submitted with the probate petition, it was a Reiner family representative who hired him as counsel after Nick’s arrest, with Nick’s siblings reportedly agreeing “verbally” to pay for their brother’s defense. But by the end of December, the family representatives told Jackson that they would no longer be paying his retainer. Jackson also reiterated his willingness to serve as Nick’s counsel if he’s able to secure access to his trust to cover his legal expenses.
Nick is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the stabbing deaths of his parents. In February, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His probate petition makes some mention of the criminal case, including the pointed statement: “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.”
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