A deal has been struck between lawyers for Nick Reiner and the trust allowing a mediator to decide whether he can access funds set aside for him by his parents. The mediation could open the door for him to rehire Alan Jackson, who has represented Harvey Weinstein and Karen Read, among others, and withdrew from the case because of Reiner’s financial constraints.
“A criminal defendant has a constitutional right to use money that is lawfully his own to be defended by the lawyer he chooses,” Reiner’s lawyer, Anita Wu, said in a statement. “These issues need to get resolved as quickly as possible.”
Reiner has been held in custody without bail since pleading not guilty to the murders in February. He was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances relating to multiple homicides, meaning the maximum sentence he faces is life without parole. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has said it will not seek the death penalty after consulting Reiner’s siblings.
The trust’s fiduciaries have maintained that Reiner is barred from accessing money in the trust, citing California’s so-called slayer statute. The law prohibits people from receiving an inheritance from those they kill.
One issue in the case is whether the statute applies since Reiner hasn’t been convicted. Another is whether the money is already his since half of the funds should’ve been dispersed to him on his 30th birthday in 2023. Under the terms of the irrevocable trust, the other half is to be paid to him when he turns 35.
Money from the trust is currently being used to pay for lawyers on both side of the litigation, including those trying to prevent Reiner from accessing the funds. So far, fiduciaries have paid lawyers more than $250,000, according to court filings. The figure is nearly half of the trust, $558,000, Reiner should’ve received when he turned 30.
“None of that makes any sense, or serves anyone’s interests,” Wu said. The mediation will begin in December.
In court filings, Reiner’s lawyers have also argued that a “substantial portion” of the disputed funds in the trust, at least $325,000, is money from his grandfather, Carl Reiner, who died in 2020.
“Nick is not accused of causing his death,” the filing stated. “Money that was left to Nick by his grandfather is not money received by Nick from or through his parents. To the extent the funds Nick received from his grandfather are Nick’s personal assets, they remain Nick’s and should be segregated and released from this trust. Even if they were properly held by the trust, the ‘Slayer Statute’ does not supply a basis for withholding them.”