Overview
- The trustee has refused to release roughly $1.5–$1.6 million held in parental trusts and says distributions would be irreversible and must protect the rights of the other beneficiaries.
- Nick Reiner has filed court papers disputing the trustee's account and demanding about €483,000 plus interest that he says was due to him, saying he needs the money to hire private defense counsel.
- A private attorney, Alan Jackson, withdrew after fees could not be paid from the blocked funds, and Reiner is now represented by a public defender while criminal proceedings continue.
- A hearing on the payout dispute was scheduled for Monday and the criminal case is set to proceed with a pretrial appearance in September, leaving Reiner without access to trust assets until courts decide.
- California's Slayer Statute, which bars a person who unlawfully killed another from inheriting, is central to the dispute and is typically applied only after a judicial finding of guilt rather than on accusation alone.