Nick Reiner is charged with killing his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner. The legendary Hollywood director had substantial wealth from his many projects, and now it will be transferred to his children, unless something else is arranged. So what will happen to Nick’s share? According to an expert, he may be ineligible to inherit.
Rob and Michele Reiner were found murdered in their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, was later apprehended near USC in South Los Angeles by police on suspicion of murder. Rob and Michele reportedly died from stab wounds.
On Tuesday, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced that the 32-year-old is accused of killing his parents “approximately the early morning hours” of December. 14.
“Today, I’m here to announce that our office will be filing charges against Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, actor-director Rob Reiner and photographer-producer Michel Singer Reiner,” Hochman said.
“These charges will be two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders. He also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife.”
He continued, “In approximately the early morning hours of December 14, Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, at their home in the 200 block of South Chadbourne Avenue in Brentwood. Nick Reiner fled but was arrested hours later that evening in Exposition Park.”
Rob Reiner – net worth, will, inheritance
Nick Reiner is being held without bond. Rob and Michele share three children: sons Nick and Jake, and daughter Romy. The director also adopted another daughter, Tracy, from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 04: Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner attend AOL Build Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
Rob Reiner’s net worth at the time of his death was $200 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. As both he and Michele are now dead, their children will most likely inherit their parents’ fortune. But what happens to Nick’s share?
Speaking with People Magazine, estate and trusts attorney Sean Weissbart, a partner at Blank Rome LLP who is not connected to the case, said the 32-year-old, who is charged with killing his parents, will become ineligible to inherit from his parents’ estate if he is convicted of the crime, per a particular state law.
“California has what’s called a slayer statute, which says if you kill someone that you’re going to inherit from, you lose your inheritance and any right to serve as a fiduciary of their estate. So assuming he’s convicted of this murder, he’s out as beneficiary, along with any fiduciary appointments he may have,” Weissbart told People, adding that a fiduciary appointment is “an executor, a trustee, [or] if they died without a will, which is probably unlikely, an administrator.”
Could be ineligible for inheritance
The expert states that a revocable trust and a will are the “most common” estate-planning tools in California. Often, as it’s a community property state, “you’ll see that a married couple has a joint revocable trust.”
Regardless of how Rob and Michele structured their estate plan, Nick is unlikely to receive any inheritance if he’s convicted.
“Let’s assume that the four children got everything in equal shares. Nick would be disqualified, and everything would just go — probably — in three equal shares [instead],” Weissbart said.
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 15: Rob Reiner (L) and Michele Singer Reiner attend “Misery” Broadway opening night at The Broadhurst Theatre on November 15, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart/Getty Images)
So what happens if he’s acquitted?
“I was looking at the statute, and it doesn’t require an actual conviction. It requires a person who feloniously and intentionally killed the decedent. And so since the slayer statute is civil, arguably it could apply if the court determined that this person had committed this murder, even if, for some reason, the person could no longer be charged criminally — I don’t think that’s the case here,” Sean Weissbart told People.
“What I would say is a felony conviction would be per se, [meaning] the slayer statute would apply, but it could arguably apply even if there was not yet a felony conviction.”
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