Archive · 17 Aug 2026
Nick Reiner Battles Trustee Over Trust Fund for Murder Defense
Nick Reiner is a grown-up whose mom and dad were very famous.
Sadly, his parents were found hurt in their home and died.
The police think Nick did it, and he says he didn't.
Nick is in jail and needs a lawyer to help him.
He has money in a special bank account called a trust, which his parents set up for him when he was a baby.
Nick says he should be allowed to use that money to pay for his lawyer.
But the person in charge of the money says Nick said no to taking it before.
Now a judge has to decide who is right.
Until the judge decides, Nick cannot use the money, even for small things like shampoo.
Nick Reiner, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the December 2025 deaths of his parents, is fighting trustee Jodi Montgomery for access to his trust fund to pay for his criminal defense.
The trust, created on December 2, 1993, is now worth over $1.6 million, and Reiner claims $558,000 became due when he turned 30 on September 14, 2023.
Montgomery argues Reiner was aware of and declined the age-30 distribution, and that he is not entitled to funds until age 35.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office added a special-circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait to the charges on August 12.
Reiner's parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer, were found dead in their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025, and Nick Reiner was arrested by the LAPD hours later.
- Who
- Nick Reiner, son of the late Rob Reiner and Michele Singer, and trustee Jodi Montgomery.
- What
- A civil court dispute over whether Nick Reiner can access trust fund money to pay for his criminal defense against murder charges.
- When
- The civil court hearing took place on Monday, August 17, 2026; the parents were found dead on December 14, 2025.
- Where
- Los Angeles Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles.
- Why
- Reiner says he needs the money to hire a top-tier defense team, while the trustee maintains he declined the distribution and is not entitled to funds until age 35.
Nick Reiner's Position
Trustee Jodi Montgomery's Position
The $558,000 age-30 distribution
Nick Reiner's Position
Reiner says he was never told the money was due, never asked where to transfer it, and never consented to leaving it in the trust.
Trustee Jodi Montgomery's Position
Montgomery says Michele Singer Reiner advised that Nick knew he could take the distribution and chose to leave it in the trust, consenting to continued administration.
Access to funds for defense
Nick Reiner's Position
Reiner's lawyer says he needs the money immediately to hire a top-tier defense team and that the trustee won't even release $50 for commissary items like shampoo.
Trustee Jodi Montgomery's Position
Montgomery says Reiner is not entitled to any distribution until age 35, and possibly not even then depending on the outcome of his criminal case.
Trustee conduct
Nick Reiner's Position
Reiner's lawyer says trustees are spending trust money to litigate against the beneficiary they are legally required to protect.
Trustee Jodi Montgomery's Position
Montgomery's attorneys say the trust's parameters and obligations mean the funds should remain in the trust, and they do not dispute that a real controversy exists.
- Trust value
- Over $1.6 million
- Disputed amount
- $558,000
- Trust creation date
- December 2, 1993
- Nick Reiner's age
- 32
- Charges
- Two counts of first-degree murder
- Special circumstance
- Murder while lying in wait (added August 12)
- Parents found
- December 14, 2025, in Brentwood home
- Presiding judge
- LA Superior Court Judge Ruben Garcia