Pennsylvania attorney and longtime ElderLawAnswers member David R. Lipka died February 22, 2017, at his home in Shavertown, Pa., after a courageous battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 64.
Attorney Lipka had been in practice for 39 years and was the first certified elder law attorney (CELA) in Luzerne County, which includes Wilkes-Barre, earning the designation from the National Elder Law Foundation in 2005. At the time of his death he was in private practice in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and handled all matters himself, aided by two full-time paralegals, Russell Painter and Mary Jo Raughley, and a legal assistant who also happened to be his sister, Janet Weiss. The practice primarily focused on the areas of estate and Medicaid planning; estate probate and administration; special needs trusts; and guardianships.
“Attorney Lipka was admired by many, many people,” Painter told ElderLawAnswers. “All of his clients loved him. He was a very kind, good-hearted person who put his clients’ needs even sometimes ahead of his own.”
He had a long list of awards from local civic groups and for his stellar client reviews. As recently as this year he received an award from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader for client services.
Attorney Lipka was a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Academy of Special Needs Planners, and the elder law section of the Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association. He joined ElderLawAnswers in 2007.
Painter said that Lipka had designated Wilkes-Barre attorney Patrick J. Aregood to be his co-executor and estate attorney and to handle the transition of his office. Remaining clients will be transferred to Aregood’s practice.
Lipka leaves his wife, the former Wendy Cohee; a son, John Lipka; two stepdaughters; and a brother and two sisters.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 712 Keyser Ave., Taylor, PA 18517.
For an obituary of Attorney Lipka, click here.
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