Nick Reiner‘s lawyers and representatives of a $1.5 million family trust are negotiating a possible settlement ahead of his trial for allegedly murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner.
A probate hearing was held on Friday, October 23, at the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Us was in attendance as both parties offered an update on the status of a fund established by the late filmmaker and his wife to benefit their three children — Jake, 35, Nick, 33, and Romy, 28. (Nick was not present in court during Friday’s session.)
Nick’s attorney Anita Wu confirmed to the judge that all parties agreed to attend a meditation session on Wednesday, December 16, to discuss a potential settlement.
Trustee lawyers requested that Nick be required to attend the December mediation session remotely from jail. They also asked the court to approve $300 to go into Nick’s commissary at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which would be replenished whenever it is depleted.
The legal team representing the Reiner family trust argued that the judge should immediately approve the payment, since the amount is “so small” and yet it is “important for Nick’s quality of life.” The judge declined to rule on the request during Friday’s hearing, explaining that he needed time to “reflect” on the implications of making such an allowance.
Both sides have agreed to return to court on March 17, 2027, regardless of the results of their mediation session. At that hearing, the judge can either approve a potential settlement agreement or the parties will have to once again try to hash out the dispute.
Outside the courtroom, trustee lawyer Laurianne Wright told reporters she is “optimistic” an agreement can be reached at the mediation meeting since there are “smart, experienced attorneys” on both sides.
Nick is being held in jail without bail, having been charged with the first-degree murders of his parents at their Los Angeles home on December 14, 2025. Rob was 78, and Michele was 70. (Nick has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have ruled out pursuing the death penalty in the case.)
He has repeatedly asked the court to grant him access to his share of a $1.5 million trust fund set up by his late parents in 1993. Nick contends he should have received half of his portion when he turned 30 in September 2023.
Any claim to the fund is complicated by California’s “Slayer Statute,” which stipulates that “a person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled” to the money nor can they access financial assets or property from the party they are accused of killing.
Nick’s attorneys argue that he has the presumption of innocence in Rob and Michele’s murders unless he is convicted by a court of law — and thus should be allowed to use the money in his fund. Despite this argument, his current and former trustees — Jodi Pais Montgomery and Paul R. Kanin — refused to pay out any money to Nick thus far.
“Nick still has not been able to access even $5 from his trust to buy basic subsistence items from the jail commissary,” Nick’s attorneys Wu and Geoffrey A. Neri wrote to his trustees in August. “Nick has been unable to access money that is lawfully his own — to re-engage criminal defense counsel, or even for basic subsistence items from the jail commissary.”
Nick’s former attorney Alan Jackson told Us and other outlets following an August hearing that the alleged killer is “very much entitled to his own money, his own funds.”
“That’s what this process is about,” Jackson said outside the courthouse at the time. “He’s made a determination that he wants to be able to use his funds that are in his trust account to decide on his criminal counsel. When he is allowed to do that, he will then be able to defend himself in the way that the constitution indicates he should and can defend himself.”
In recent months, Nick’s younger brother, Jake, and his aunt Martine Singer both confirmed to L.A.’s ABC7 News that they’ve had no contact with him since his imprisonment.
Asked in an October interview if she’d consider speaking with Nick, his Aunt Martine replied, “I appreciate the question. I’m not sure I can answer that.”
Nick is next set to return to court on March 17, 2027.
