Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner requests inheritance set aside for him by parents as he awaits trial for their murder

Nick Reiner, son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, has made headlines recently after filing a petition in a California court. Reiner is requesting money from a trust his parents had set up for him before their deaths. The petition was filed on Monday, June 8 and obtained by People.

As per the petition, the When Harry Met Sally director and Michele had set up a smaller, separate trust for Nick personally, something they did for their other two children, Jake and Romy, as well. Half of that money was meant to go to Nick when he turned thirty, with the rest due at thirty-five. Nick is currently thirty-two years old. The petition states that

"Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths."

It also notes that

"the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation."

That being said, Nick Reiner is awaiting trial on two counts of first-degree murder connected to the deaths of his parents in December 2025. He has pleaded not guilty. Rob Reiner also adopted his first wife Penny Marshall's daughter Tracy, in addition to his three biological children.

Nick Reiner says trustee has stonewalled him for months while he sits in jail without basic necessities:

Nick Reiner's petition, as per a report shared by People, claims he has not yet received the mandatory distribution he should have gotten when he turned thirty. On top of that, Reiner says he has not even been told how much money is in the trust, which the petition claims is in excess of $1.5 million.

The petition alleges that months of repeated inquiries to the current trustee have offered a shifting series of excuses and justifications, including unsubstantiated concerns about Nick's so-called competence to manage a trust.

The petition is also asking for the first half of the trust payment to be released to Nick so he can cover his legal expenses. Beyond that, the filing asks for money to fund his commissary account so that he can buy basic support items while incarcerated, things like socks and personal hygiene items like soap, within the low spending limits imposed by the jail.

The petition is firm on the matter of whether the trustee has any right to withhold the money, stating that

"These distributions are non-discretionary. The trust does not authorize the Trustee to condition these distribution points on any subjective assessment by the Trustee as to Nick's intended use of those funds."

Nick Reiner's petition warns stakes could not be higher as he struggles to cover basic costs:

The petition also takes on the trustee's reasoning for holding the money back. As per a report shared by People, the trust being irrevocable limits what the trustee can actually do. Passing along distributions in a different way to someone deemed incompetent is allowed. Refusing to hand over the money altogether is not.

Nick Reiner has not been declared incompetent. No court has made that ruling, and no written statement from two licensed physicians backs the trustee's position either. The petition argues the trustee's concerns about Nick Reiner's capacity fall well short of the legal bar, a situation which has left the filing calling it an abuse of the trustee's discretion. Nothing could be more important for Nick Reiner to spend the money on right now, the petition states.

"The stakes for Nick could not be higher," the filing adds.

The filing also notes that he hasn't been able to cover essentials behind bars or properly fund his own defense. Nick was initially represented by attorney Alan Jackson. The petition claims Jackson ended up stepping away after the money he was counting on never came through. Public defender Kimberly Greene has since taken over.

Nick Reiner's older brother Jake says losing both parents instantly is his living nightmare:

On April 24, Nick's older brother Jake, published a personal essay on Substack about losing his parents. He was at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles that day, celebrating the life of a close friend who had died the previous October, when his sister rang to tell him both parents were gone.

"The 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was unendurable," he wrote.

"My world, as I knew it, had collapsed. I was in a trance," he added.

Jake shared that he felt robbed that day. He described the experience as something that

"simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me."

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Jake also wrote about what each morning has been like since.

"Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time. It's too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it's not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare."

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