Nick Reiner, aged 32, is requesting court approval to access a trust fund established by his parents. He asserts that he needs these funds to cover legal expenses as he defends himself against charges of murdering his parents. According to court documents made public, Reiner claims that the trust money was due to him long before the alleged crimes were committed.

Reiner seeks to obtain $558,000 from the trust, which was meant to be distributed to him three years ago. He wishes to rehire Alan Jackson, a prominent criminal defense attorney, who had been replaced by the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office earlier this year. However, Jackson declined to comment on the matter.

In his legal filing, Reiner argues that preventing him from accessing the funds is unconstitutional, as it denies him, a “presumed-innocent man,” access to his “own untainted money” before a trial that could determine his liberty. NBC reported this information on Monday night.

This legal struggle revolves around California’s Slayer statute, which restricts individuals from collecting inheritances or benefitting from their crimes. Reiner argues the statute should not apply since he has not been convicted and the money was owed to him on his 30th birthday, which was in September 2023, before his parents were killed.

“This case is not about the far larger Reiner family trusts, which hold the assets of Nick’s parents’ estate and the inheritances they left their children,” his attorneys argued. “This case is about money Nick’s parents separately set aside for him alone and made irrevocable, to be paid to him on two fixed dates: one-half at 30, and the balance at 35.”

Reiner is accused of stabbing his parents during the night of December 14. He was apprehended about 12 hours after his sister, Romy, found their bodies. Last month, a grand jury indicted Reiner on murder charges and cited an allegation that he planned to ambush his parents. Prosecutors have not disclosed a potential motive.

Reiner has pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment if found guilty. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated he will not seek the death penalty at trial. A hearing on Reiner’s request for the trust fund money is scheduled for October 23.

Joshua Ritter, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor, believes Reiner’s interpretation of the Slayer law is accurate. However, he questions whether the trust may have other measures to prevent Reiner from accessing the funds, considering his well-documented issues with drugs and mental health.

“The guy was a total wreck,” Ritter said. “You would imagine they built a trust with discretion.”