Robert S. (Rust) Tippett is a partner at Bennett Tueller Johnson & Deere in Salt Lake City. His practice focuses on all aspects of estate planning, including trusts, probate, estate and gift taxation and conservatorships. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and is a member of ACTEC's Asset Protection Committee and Legal Education Committee.

Mr. Tippett holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. From 2003 to 2008 he served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Brigham Young University (BYU) J. Reuben Clark School of Law.

In addition to authoring The Utah Law of Trusts & Estates (a comprehensive 700-page legal reference treatise) and other materials available on this website, Mr. Tippett has published and presented many articles and papers in the trust and estate field, as described below.

Mr. Tippett was the principal author of Utah’s asset protection trust statute, which was signed into law by the Governor on March 28, 2013.

Mr. Tippett has appeared on the Court Roster of Approved Mediators for the State of Utah, and is a member of the Utah Council on Conflict Resolution. He is available to mediate probate and trust disputes.

Mr. Tippett was selected as one of Utah's “Legal Elite” by Utah Business Magazine from 2016 through 2022.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

B.A. Yale University, cum laude, 1984

J.D. University of Michigan, 1987

Clerk to The Honorable Aldon J. Anderson,
U.S. District Court for the District of Utah,
1987 - 1988

Professional Activities

Adjunct Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University
(Wills & Estates; Trusts; Advanced Estate Planning)
Fall 2009 to the Present
Recipient: 2011 BYU Law School Adjunct Professor of the Year Award
Recipient: 2017 BYU Student Bar Association Adjunct Professor of the Year Award
Recipient: 2018 BYU Student Bar Association Adjunct Professor of the Year Award
Recipient: 2020 BYU Student Bar Association Adjunct Professor of the Year Award
Recipient: 2022 BYU Student Bar Association Adjunct Professor of the Year Award

Adjunct Professor of Law, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
(Gifts, Wills & Trusts)
Spring 2003 through Spring 2008
Recipient: 2005 USC Student Bar Association Outstanding Adjunct Professor Award

Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section Chair: June 2019-Present
Vice Chair: 2018-2019
Secretary/Treasurer: 2017-2018
Program Chair: 2016-2017

Member, Committee on Legislation
Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section
2011 to the Present

Chair, Estate Tax Committee, Taxation Section
Los Angeles County Bar Association
1999-2000 (Vice Chair, 1998-1999; Secretary, 1997-1998)

Member-at-Large, Executive Committee, Taxation Section
Los Angeles County Bar Association
2000-2002

Member of the Utah and California Bars

Member, Salt Lake Estate Planning Council

Other Publications and Presentations

Author, Chapter 16: Utah Statutory Asset Protection Trusts in Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, published by the American Bar Association, 2021

The Osguthorpe Case and the Tort of Intentional Interference with Inheritance, presentation to the Salt Lake Estate Planning Council (co-presented with James K. Tracy), November 10, 2021

Creditor Protection/Statutory Asset Protection Trusts: Utah's Experience, Presentation to the 2019 State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention, June 27, 2019

Useful Trust Strategies for Avoiding Problems Down the Road, Presentation to the Northern Utah Estate Planning Council, March 13, 2018

Asset Protection in Utah, Presentation to the Utah Valley Estate Planning Council, January 4, 2017

Basic Estate Planning, Presentation to the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar, May 11, 2016

Estate Planning Bootcamp, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section, April 22, 2016

Protecting Clients’ Estate Plans from Negligent and/or Dishonest Successor Trustees, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Estate Planning & Elder Law Sections, December 7, 2015

Utah Asset Protection Trusts, Leimberg Asset Protection Planning Newsletter, September 2, 2015

Utah Asset Protection Trusts, Web Presentation to the ABA Section on Real Property, Trust & Estate Law, June 9, 2015

Utah Legislative Update, Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section CLE Presentation, May 12, 2015

Utah Asset Protection Trusts, Brigham Young University Grant Taggart Symposium, September 19, 2014

Creditor Protection in Utah, Presentation to the Utah Valley University Business & Economic Forum, May 27, 2014

Estate Planning Bootcamp, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section, March 27, 2014

Utah’s New Asset Protection Trust Law, Presentation to the Northern Utah Estate Planning Council, November 20, 2013

Asset Protection Trusts in Utah, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Fall Forum, November 15, 2013

Utah’s New Asset Protection Trust Law, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section, November 12, 2013

Fiduciary Responsibilities and Estate Planning, Presentation to the Utah Attorney General’s Office, November 7, 2013

Utah’s New Asset Protection Trust Law, Presentation to the Southern Utah Estate Planning Council, October 10, 2013

Asset Protection Trusts in Utah, Presentation to the Society of Financial Service Professionals (Utah Chapter), September 3, 2013

Litigating Probate & Trust Issues in Utah, Presentation to the Utah State Bar Litigation Section, August 16, 2013

Utah’s New Asset Protection Trust Law, Presentation to Wealth Counsel (Utah Chapter), August 6, 2013

Utah’s New Asset Protection Trust Law, Utah Bar Journal (co-authored with Rep. Derek E. Brown), July/Aug 2013

Choice of Entity in Utah: LLCs vs. LPs, Presentation to the Salt Lake Estate Planning Council (co-presenter with D. Evan Pack), June 20, 2012

Counseling Individual Trustee Clients, Utah Bar Journal, Sept/Oct 2011

Trustee Compensation, Attorney Fees and Other Administrative Costs (Chapter 9), California Trust Administration, published by Continuing Education of the Bar, 2000-2011

Income Taxation of Trusts (Chapter 11), California Trust Administration, published by Continuing Education of the Bar, 2002-2011 (co-authored with Marc M. Stern)

Values-Based Estate Planning, Presentation to the Utah Valley Healthcare Foundation, October 12, 2010

Designating Retirement Plan Beneficiaries, 29th Annual UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute, May 2007 (co-presentation with Darryl W. Cluster)

Consultant, Complete Plans for Small and Mid-Size Estates, published by Continuing Education of the Bar, 2006

Split Dollar Life Insurance Update, USC Law School Institute on Federal Taxation, 2003 (co-presentation with Jon J. Gallo)

California Trustee Compensation in Practice, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 7, Issue 2, Summer 2001

Proposed Amendment of QTIP Trust Provision, California Tax Lawyer, Spring 2001 (co-authored with Leslie J. Daniels and Marc R. Isaacson)

Consultant, California Conservatorships and Guardianships, published by Continuing Education of the Bar, 2000

Bonding Requirements for Retirement Plan Assets in Conservatorship Proceedings, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, Volume 5, Number 2, Summer 1999 (co-authored with Terence S. Nunan)

Proposed Amendment of I.R.C. Section 2207A, Tax Notes Today, June 30, 1999 (co-authored with Elizabeth T. Pierson)