The chilling deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, have shocked the film world. The filmmaker behind classics like "A Few Good Men," "The Princess Bride," and "When Harry Met Sally," 78, and his wife, 68, were found dead in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Hours after the tragedy, police arrested the couple’s middle son, Nick, 32, as the main suspect in the murders. He remains in custody awaiting questioning. According to Nick's attorney, he has been unable to testify because he has not received medical clearance.
Nick could be charged with two counts of first-degree murder, along with a special allegation for the use of a bladed weapon. If convicted, he could face life in prison or possibly the death penalty, according to the district attorney. After the crime, Nick checked into The Pierside Santa Monica hotel at around 4:00 a.m., where staff raised an alarm after he left a trail of blood, providing evidence for the investigation. His arrival at the location came hours after a reported argument with his father at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party.
Rob and Michele Reiner built a large fortune due to their work in Hollywood across five decades. Their net worth is estimated at $200 million, according to the site Celebrity Net Worth. The late couple had three children together: Jake, 34; Nick, and Romy, 28. Rob is also the father of Tracy, 61, whom he adopted during his first marriage to the director Penny Marshall. At first glance, they would be the heirs to the Reiner estate.
Nick's inheritance depends on the outcome of the allegations
The future of the family inheritance has been clouded by the circumstances surrounding Nick Reiner’s case. As explained by estates and trusts attorney Sean Weissbart, Nick would not be eligible to inherit from his parents if he were convicted of his parents' murder.
"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," he said to PEOPLE.
Weissbart added that, regardless of whether the Reiners left a will, the distribution of the assets would likely be interpreted as being divided equally. "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]," he said.
As is often the case with large fortunes, the money and properties could be managed through a trust, with the children of the marriage as beneficiaries. If the conviction is confirmed, Nick Reiner would lose all rights to an inheritance that would have been his.
Reiner founded Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind many of his most successful films, which he sold in 1993 to Ted Turner’s group, owner of CNN, for $160 million. Over his life, Reiner invested in several properties in Beverly Hills, a beachfront residence in Malibu valued at around $20 million. and his Brentwood mansion, valued at $13.5 million.