Could Rob Reiner's son Nick still inherit parents' estate if found guilty of killing them?
With Nick Reiner in custody for the alleged murder of his parents—Hollywood director Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70—the question of inheritance now comes into play.
Having had celebrated careers in the entertainment industry, the Reiner couple left behind a sizeable estate accumulated over decades, according to a PEOPLE report. They are survived by their children Jake, 34, Nick, 32, Romy, 28, as well as Rob's daughter Tracy, 61, from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.
Authorities said on Dec. 14 that Romy found her parents dead in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home. Hours later, police tracked Nick to a location near the University of Southern California campus and arrested him for the murders.
At a press conference on Dec. 16, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Nick will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a special allegation that he used a knife.
Estate and trusts attorney Sean Weissbart, a partner at Blank Rome LLP, explained Nick's situation regarding his inheritance to PEOPLE. Weissbart, according to the media outlet, is not connected to the murder case.
"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 [Nick's] convicted of this murder, he's out as beneficiary, along with any fiduciary appointments he may have," Weissbart said.
He defined a fiduciary appointment as "an executor, a trustee, [or] if they died without a will, which is probably unlikely, an administrator."
Weissbart further said that whether or not Nick gets convicted, he will most probably not receive any part of his parents' estate. The slayer statute, according to him, can be applied even without a conviction.
"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," Weissbart said.
"[The statute] 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," he added.
Still, Weissman said Nick should still be able to see legal documents that describe his parents' estate plans prior to a felony conviction or any civil decision on his case.
Would the same statute apply to similar situations in the Philippines?
In a localized setting, will children convicted of murdering their parents in the Philippines also be denied of their inheritance?
Citing Article 1032 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, Atty. Carlo Pascual told PhilSTAR L!fe they can "on the ground of unworthiness."
According to Philippine law, anyone who attempts to murder, or succeeds at murdering, a person from whom they were to inherit is automatically stripped of the right to receive any part of the inheritance.
"An attempt against the life of the decedent is sufficient to render a person incapacitated to inherit. Such unworthiness may even be relevant or applicable when such a person actually caused the death of the decedent," said Pascual.
"Nonetheless, the law requires that there must be conviction in both cases," he noted.
