Nick Reiner says he needs money from his trust fund to help pay for his defense team, specifically to rehire famed defense attorney Alan Jackson, according to a new court filing. The petition alleges that Nick Reiner is entitled to the funds in his trust, which were required to be released to him when he turned 30, something he claims did not happen.
Nick Reiner, 32, was charged with the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, in December.
Nick Reiner was previously represented by Jackson, but Jackson abruptly resigned from the case in January for reasons that were not shared at the time.
The petition alleges Nick Reiner's siblings, Jake Reiner and Romy Reiner, had initially agreed to pay Jackson's fees, but in January, "Nick learned that Jackson and his firm were forced to withdraw because the anticipated funding did not materialize, and the Public Defender was appointed to take over Nick's defense."
It is not known why funding from Nick Reiner's siblings was unavailable.
"Since then, Nick has repeatedly asked that Jackson's firm resume its representation if funds become available," the petition states, adding that Jackson "has reaffirmed not only that he 'stands ready, willing, and able to resume [his] representation,' but that he is 'committed to representing' Nick and 'willing to consider reasonable alternatives to the original fee arrangement.'"
"These are not estate assets, and Nick does not seek them from his parents' estate," the petition adds. "They are his own funds. Nick has no other means -- to pay for his legal expenses, or for his basic support needs while incarcerated."
The petition specifically notes that the trust in question was created for Nick Reiner by his parents "more than 30 years ago, when Nick was an infant," and that similar "children's" trusts were also created for his siblings.
The petition argues that these children's trusts were "funded independently" of the larger family trusts that hold the Reiner family's estate, and that the terms of the independent trusts required one half to be paid out when the beneficiary turned 30, with the other half disbursed when they turned 35.
"Nick turned 30 on September 14, 2023 -- more than two and a half years ago -- at which point his right to one-half of the Trust vested and became due to him as a matter of right. But he did not receive his Mandatory Age-30 Distribution then, and he has not received it since," the petition alleges.
The petition claims the "Current Trustee" overseeing Nick Reiner's independent trust "has offered a shifting series of excuses and justifications, none of which can be reconciled with the Trust's plain terms -- most recently, unsubstantiated 'concerns' about Nick's so-called competence to 'manage a trust.'"
It adds, "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."
Jackson told reporters in January that he "had to withdraw as Nick Reiner's counsel" due to "circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick's control."
"Sadly, it's made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick," Jackson said at the time.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14, 2025. The night before their deaths, Nick Reiner -- who had been living on his parents' property at the time -- got into an argument with Rob Reiner at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News in December.
Nick Reiner was taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles hours after the bodies were discovered. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders, to which he pleaded not guilty.
He remains in jail on no bail. His is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing in September.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
