Overview
- Prosecutors unsealed a grand jury indictment that alleges Nick Reiner killed his parents and he pleaded not guilty after the indictment was revealed Wednesday.
- Reiner filed a probate petition seeking an age-30 distribution he says was due in 2023 and says he needs the money to re-hire private attorney Alan Jackson and mount his defense.
- Trustees have refused the payment and formally invoked California Probate Code §250, citing the slayer statute and asking the probate court to withhold distributions while claims are resolved.
- Under the law a criminal conviction would bar a beneficiary conclusively, but a probate judge may also make an independent finding of ineligibility by a preponderance of the evidence.
- If the court withholds or later applies the slayer statute, the money could be irreversibly redirected to Reiner’s siblings and Reiner’s ability to obtain private counsel could be materially constrained.