Robin H. Balsam
Top rated Estate & Trust Litigation attorney in Tacoma, Washington
Balsam Quinlan PS
Practice areas: Estate & Trust Litigation, Elder Law, Estate Planning & Probate; view more
Licensed in Washington since: 1984
Education: Seattle University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2011, 2015 - 2025 Details
Robin H. Balsam is the managing partner at Balsam Quinlan P.S. in Tacoma, Washington. With more than 35 years of experience, Ms. Balsam handles cases involving highly contested wills and complicated matters of guardianships, trusts and estates. She also has experience pursuing and uncovering perpetrators of fraud and elder abuse. Ms. Balsam represents clients in Tacoma, Pierce County, the Seattle metropolitan area and throughout the state of Washington.
The recipient of a law degree from Seattle University School of Law, Ms. Balsam also holds a master’s degree in elder law from Stetson University College of Law. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of Washington, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Ms. Balsam has been a Washington Certified Professional Guardian since 2001, and serves as the Director of Commencement Bay Fiduciary Services, a certified professional guardian agency employing three additional professional guardians and support staff.
Professional organizations that Ms. Balsam belongs to include the American Bar Association, the Washington Association of Professional Guardians, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
Ms. Balsam also belongs to the Washington State Bar Association and is a member of the association’s elder law section. She is also a member of the guardianship section of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. In addition to these activities, Ms. Balsam serves as a master barrister for the American Inns of Court. She has served as special district counsel and a representative of the Certified Professional Guardian Board for the Washington State Bar Association, and in 2010, was a member of an advisory committee to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. She is a current Pro Tem Court Commissioner and former Pro Tem Judge for the Pierce County Superior Court.
Ms. Balsam always enjoyed spending time with her grandparents, talking about their lives and experiences, and spent a lot of time with an older neighbor discussing travel and photography when she was a youngster. These relationships inspired her to choose elder law as a practice area when she began her own law practice in 1989.
Practice areas
Estate & Trust Litigation, Elder Law, Estate Planning & ProbateFocus areas
Estate Planning, Guardianships & Conservatorships, Living Wills, Power of Attorney, Probate & Estate Administration, Trusts, Will Contests, Wills
- 50% Estate & Trust Litigation
- 30% Elder Law
- 20% Estate Planning & Probate
First Admitted: 1984, Washington
Professional Webpage: https://balsamlaw.com/robin-h-balsam
- International Academy of Collaborative Law Professionals, 2008 to 2020
- Chairperson, web site for Pierce County Bar Association, 1999-2000
- Adjunct Investigative Counsel Panel Member, Board of Governors, Washington State Bar Association; 2004-2009 and 2010-2015
- Chairperson, Bench/Bar Liaison Committee, Pierce County, 1996 and 1997
- Elder Law Section, Washington State Bar Association
- Arbitration Panel member, Pierce County Superior Court, 1991-2004
- Commissioner Pro Tem, Pierce County Superior Court, appointed 1992-2006, 2019-present (could not participate due to guardian ad litem appointments 1996-1998)
- Member of Advisory Committee to the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to review training programs for Title 11 Guardianship guardians ad litem, 2010
- Special Prosecutor for City of Pacific, 1990-1999
- Master Barrister (emeritus status 2009), Inns of Court; 2000 to date
- Client Security Program, Washington State Bar Association, 1990-1996
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)
- Tacoma/Pierce County Bar Association Guardianship Committee, 1993-1996 and 1998 to date; Committee Chair 2004 and 2010
- Special District Counsel for Washington State Bar Association, 1990-1993 and 1999-2004
- Judge Pro Tem, Pierce County Superior Court, 1999-2008 (program discontinued in 2009 due to lack of funds)
- Pierce County Guardian ad Litem for guardianship, domestic and probate cases, 1989-1998
- Collaborative Law Professionals of Pierce County, 2006 to 2020
- Pierce County Settlement Guardian ad Litem for injury victims, 1989-1998
- Certified Professional Guardian Board, WSBA Representative, October 2003 – September 2013
- Washington State Bar Association, 1984
- Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association, Volunteer Legal Services Committee, 2016
- Washington Professional Guardian Association
- Tacoma/Pierce County Bar Association Ad Hoc Committee on Case Management, 1996
- Licensed to practice in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1984
- Collaboratively trained, 2008
- Licensed to practice in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1984
- Washington Certified Professional Guardian, 2001 to date, 2001
- Admitted to the Washington State Bar, 1984
- Provisionally Certified Professional Guardian, 1999-2000, 1999
- LL.M Masters in Elder Law from Stetson University School of Law, 2013
- Seattle University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1983
- LL.M Masters in Elder Law, Stetson University School of Law, 2013
- Representing Incapacitated Persons in a Dissolution Action, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2003
- Personal Injury Settlements, Trusts, and Ethics, Moderator/CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2003
- Vulnerable Adults, Civil Perspective, CLE speaker, Washington State Bar Association, 2003
- Panel speaker on Establishing, Managing and Terminating a Special Needs Trust, CLE speaker, Washington State Bar Association, 2004
- Moderator on various guardianship issues, CLE speaker, Third Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2004
- Competency, Capacity, and Insanity, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2004
- Moderator on various guardianship issues., CLE speaker, Fourth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2005
- Death and Dying Issues, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2006
- Real Estate Sales in Guardianships, CLE speaker, Fifth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2006
- What Steps to Take When You Have an Incapacitated Client, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Family Law Section, 2007
- Washington State Professional Guardian Seminar, CLE speaker, 2007
- Special Issues in Representing Professional Guardians and Trustees, CLE speaker, The Guardianship Institute, Washington State Bar Association, 2007
- Challenges of Applying Substituted Judgment Versus the Best Interest Standard in a Guardianship, CLE speaker, Elder Law Essentials: The Annual Elder Law Conference, National Academy Of Elder Law Attorneys - Washington State Chapter, 2007
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Probate, Trust, and Guardianship Pitfalls, Practice Tips and Ethics, CLE Speaker, Annual Convention, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2007
- Thorny Issues, CLE Speaker, Sixth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2007
- Moderator of Critical Issues and Warning Flags; speaker on Collaborative Law: Attorneys and Guardians as Healers of Conflict; presenter on Do Ethics or Morals Guide Your Decisions as Guardian in Complicated Situations?, CLE Speaker, Seventh Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2008
- Ethics in Guardianships, Panel Speaker, Eighth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2009
- Ethics in Guardianship, Probate and Trust, CLE Speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2009
- Various "Food for Thought" topics; Point/Counterpoint, Moderator/CLE Speaker, Ninth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2010
- Changes to Standards of Practice for Certified Professional Guardians; Ethical Issues Involving Trusts, Guardianships, and Probates, CLE Speaker, Eighth Annual CPG Continuing Education Seminar, Bridge Builders, 2012
- Speaker on Changes to Standards of Practice for Certified Professional Guardians., Annual Certified Professional Guardian Fall Training, Washington Association Of Professional Guardians, 2011
- Vulnerable Adult Protection, Domestic Violence, Injunctions, Restraining Orders, Real Property Sales by Fiduciaries, and Estates of Incapacitated Persons, CLE Speaker, Fourteenth Annual CPG Continuing Education Conference, Guardian Institute, 2017
- How to Start a Practice: Technological Solutions to Business Practice, CLE speaker, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 1997
- Understanding the Four Cs of Elder Law Ethics, CLE Speaker, Love Stinks VIII, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2015
- Off the Wall Estate Problems (and Their Solutions); Changes to Standards of Practice for Certified Professional Guardians, CLE Speaker, Ninth Annual CPG Continuing Education Seminar, Bridge Builders, 2011
- Less Restrictive Alternatives to Guardianships and Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, "Who is Your Client?", CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Guardianship Committee, 1998
- Advising Your CPG Clients: Avoiding Malpractice and Professional Complaints, CLE Speaker, Eleventh Annual Guardianship Seminar: Burning Topics & Concerns, Tacoma/Pierce County Bar Association, 2012
- Community Property Agreements, Durable Powers of Attorney and Changing Wills, CLE speaker, Washington State Bar Association, 1998
- Marijuana and Guardianship: Pitfalls, CLE Speaker, Thirteenth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2014
- Civil Discovery, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 1999
- Guardianship, Elder Law, and Protection of Vulnerable Adults, Law Seminar Speaker, Seattle University School of Law, 2017
- What Happens After a Guardianship is Entered, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Guardianship Committee, 1999
- Joel's Law: Petitioning for Mental Health Detention, CLE Speaker, Sixteenth Annual Guardianship Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2017
- Computer Seminar, CLE speaker, Tacoma Young Lawyers, 1999
- Taking Stock or Stocking Up, Y2K, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Convention, 1999
- Guardianship and Related Issues, Code Versus No Code Issues: How Does One Determine What Code to Establish for a Client?, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, 2001
- Real Life Issues and Cases, Panel Discussion, CLE speaker, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Guardianship Committee, 2000
- Real Estate Sales and Ethics Panel, CLE speaker, Washington Association Of Professional Guardians, 2002
- American Association For Justice (formerly Washington State Trial Lawyers Association)
- American Bar Association
- National Academy Of Elder Law Attorneys
- National Association Of Professional Guardians (Registered Guardian 1999-2010)
- Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association
- Washington Association Of Professional Guardians (through 2004 Then 2007 To Date)
- Washington State Bar Association
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2011, 2015 - 2025
