Marvin S. Silver

Partner

Location: Westborough, Massachusetts

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About Marvin S. Silver

Marvin concentrates his practice in estate planning and administration, business, tax and elder law. He assists clients by creating estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, health care proxies, and durable powers of attorney, in order to distribute their property and appoint fiduciaries to oversee estate and trust administration. The estate plans range from simple wills to complex tax-minimization trusts and other devices.

Additionally, Marvin advises clients in the creation of business entities such as corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships, and prepares contracts, agreements and other documents. He provides counsel on the purchase and sale of businesses, succession planning issues and asset protection strategies.

Areas of Practice

  • Trust and Estates
  • Tax
  • Business

Education

  • Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA
    • L.L.M. (Taxation), 1981
    • J.D., 1977
  • Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
    • B.S., magna cum laude, 1974
    • Beta Gamma Sigma

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1977
  • U.S. District Court, Massachusetts, 1978
  • U.S. Tax Court, 1983

Professional Associations & Memberships

  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
    • Fellow (1994–2023)
  • Estate and Business Planning Council of Worcester County
    • Member, 1984 – 2022
    • President, 1990 – 1991
  • Massachusetts Bar Association
    • Taxation Law, Business Law and Probate Law Sections
  • Worcester County Bar Association
    • Past Co-Chairman, Trusts, Tax and Estates Section

Honors

  • Named Best Lawyers’ 2019 Worcester Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year
  • Named Best Lawyers’ 2017 Worcester Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year
  • Named Best Lawyers’ 2015 Worcester Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in trusts and estates since 2008
  • Recognized in New England Super Lawyers in the areas of estate planning and probate (2008 – 2013, 2016-2023)
  • AV® Preeminent Rated from Martindale-Hubbell, highest possible rating on both legal ability and ethics based upon the confidential opinion of peers and judges

Community Activities

  • Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
    • Past Member, Board of Directors
  • Children’s Friend, Inc. (Massachusetts)
    • Investment Committee
    • Past Member, Board of Directors
  • Westborough Education Foundation, Inc.
    • Past President and Treasurer
  • Town of Shrewsbury Finance Committee
    • Past Member and Chair

Representative Publications

  • “Estate Plans Need to Change Over Time”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, NOVEMBER 2012
  • “Estate Planning Ideas You Can Easily Use Now”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, AUGUST 2012
  • “Company Life After Death; Tips on estate planning for the business owner”
    WORCESTER BUSINESS JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 2012
  • “New Year Brings Changes in Estate and Gift Tax Laws”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, JANUARY 2009
  • “Elders Remarriage Can Cause Problems”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, MAY 2008
  • “Key Documents for Death and Incapacity”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, FEBRUARY 2007
  • “Asset Protection for the Home”
    THE JEWISH CHRONICLE, SEPTEMBER 2006

Representative Speaking Engagements

  • “The Essentials of Estate Planning”
    WHITNEY PLACE, SEPTEMBER 2013
  • Estate Planning – What You Need to Know
    METROWEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SEPTEMBER 2012
  • Estate Planning for Shareholders in Closely Held Businesses
    WORCESTER COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION BENCH / BAR DAY, 2006
  • 2001 Tax Act–Significant Changes to the Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
    WORCESTER COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION BAR DAY, 2002
  • Estate Planning for the General Practitioner
    WORCESTER COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION BAR DAY, 2001

Client Testimonials

Highly Recommend Marvin!

"Marvin helped my husband and me with our estate planning and establishing our trust. He was always articulate explaining our options and we felt he provided very practical, intelligent guidance on the best course of action for our family. His attention to detail made sure we not only had all the documents we needed but also allowed us to give the appropriate thought into how we wanted our estate to be structured. We really appreciated his tax law expertise as it related to our trust. Despite the pandemic, Marvin made the estate planning and trust formation process enjoyable; we felt we were in good hands throughout the entire process. He and his staff made it safe and easy to meet, and he was very responsive and accommodating to any questions or requests. We would highly recommend Marvin for any estate and trust needs and are grateful that he was recommended to us."

Nikki

January 4, 2021

Personal Estate Planning

"My wife and I were extremely pleased with the representation provided by Attorney Silver. Marvin was most thorough in his explanation of all details of estate planning, thus allowing us to choose the best plan for our purposes. In particular, Marvin has a unique expertise in tax law that was invaluable to us as we sorted through the tax implications of estate planning. Marvin is personable, professional, detail oriented and trustworthy. When the time comes for an update of our estate plan, we will be working again with Marvin."

John

July 20, 2020

Really Enjoyed Working with Marvin on our Wills

"It what can often be a difficult conversation (estate planning and wills), Marvin was a fantastic resource and made sure we were thinking about things in a thoughtful and complete manner. Further, during this pandemic, he made working with him and his team easy and safe. For instance, since we could not do the final signing electronically, he arranged for us to do it in the parking lot of his office - a very creative solution that left us feeling safe but accomplished what we had to. Marvin was exceptionally easy to work with, professional and always looking out for us. We've already recommended him to all of our friends who do not yet have wills!"

Tyson

July 20, 2020

Excellent estate attorney

"Marvin is a very knowledgeable attorney who guided my wife and I through the estate planning process. Although it's evident that he has a very thorough knowledge of estate law, he explained the process to us in a way that was easy for us to understand and made himself readily available to answer questions that we had for him. We will definitely employ his assistance for any future needs and would recommend him to anyone looking for a smooth estate planning process!"

David

February 4, 2020

Vice President, International Marketing Div., GTECH Corp. (Ret 2012)

"In the Spring of 2019, I realized I was in need of a new Estate Plan. The one I had was not aligned well with my current personal and financial profile. Based on the recommendation of a friend, I reached out to Marvin Silver and scheduled an introductory meeting. That meeting took place May 30, 2019 with Marvin and myself. The purpose of the meeting was to certainly get to know each other, and to help me identify my goals, my wishes for the creation an Estate Plan. For me, the two most memorable recollections from that first encounter were: 1. I quickly realized Marvin possessed excellent listening skills...there was nothing I said that he passed over in a lightly manner...I was given ample time to develop my thoughts and wishes. 2. Marvin's "professional patience"! That is, I know there were more that a few instances where I asked the same question more than once. He always took the time to explain matters, again patiently. A second meeting took place on July 02, 2019. My wife H. joined us for that meeting. In retrospect I wish I had included H. in the first meeting as, my lack of doing so, forced Marvin to cover areas, again, for H's benefit. After the meeting, H and I both agreed that Marvin was the individual we needed to work with for our estate plan. Highly knowledgeable, professional, all presented in a patient manner! In August 2019, H and I received a draft copy of our Estate Plan which we reviewed. On September 17, 2019 a meeting with Marvin, H and myself took place to review the draft and make final edits. As I recall, the number of edits were 2 or 3, and minor in nature. This, I attribute to the quality of the up front prep work Marvin took H and I through, and again, the manner in which he did so! On October 04, 2019 we reconvened at Marvin's office and signed our new Estate Plan. We are most happy with it. Thank you Marvin for being our knowledgeable and patient guide through the process!"

John

November 22, 2019

Would recommend Mr. Marvin Silver without reservation

"I would recommend Mr. Marvin Silver without reservation to anyone considering Estate Planning services. My wife and I knew that at this time in our lives we needed to rework our Wills, which were 30 years old and very much out-of-date, but didn’t know where to start or whom to see. Then, an acquaintance of mine mentioned that he and his wife had recently gone through the Estate Planning process with Mr. Marvin Silver, were very pleased with his services, and recommended that we should contact Mr. Silver. Upon initial contact, Marvin provided us with a questionnaire, requesting that we document our current finances, family situation, and hopes for the future. This provided a starting point for our initial meeting with Marvin, during which he reviewed our situation, indicated options we should consider, recommended documents to be prepared, and explained the associated fees. Throughout the process, Marvin guided us through many available options with great detail, explained the positives and negatives, and provided advice, which allowed us to reach informed decisions for ourselves. We were soon provided with draft documents to review, and modify as we felt appropriate. However, Mr. Silver had so carefully listened to our concerns and paid thorough attention to details during our discussions that no updates or modifications were needed – the documents were as we desired the first time. We received a joint Declaration of Homestead, and two each of: Last Wills and Testaments, Durable Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, HIPAA authorization forms. We were also advised regarding modifications which might be desirable in several years, as our personal situations change and evolve. When the time is appropriate, we certainly intend to contact Mr. Silver again, as we were completely satisfied with his professional, and personal, approach to our needs."

William

August 26, 2019

This is the lawyer you want to go to for estate planning!

"We had been putting off estate planning and updating our will, as we anticipated that it would be a tedious task. Happily, we were referred to Marvin Silver whose warm and personable guidance helped us to clarify our thinking and goals and whose expert counsel made complicated legal concepts understandable and user-friendly. He educated us about the need for some documents which we didn't know about, while also helping us to determine what we didn't need. He was responsive and easy to communicate with in between meetings. His office and staff set a welcoming tone. We highly recommend Marvin Silver for estate planning."

Nancy and Allen

June 19, 2019

Mr Silver was highly recommended

"Mr Silver was highly recommended to me by my financial planners Grimes And Co. and I have been very satisfied with his service. My wife and i recently retired and needed estate planning. Mr. Silver took his time and reviewed all our option in words we understood, he promptly created a wills for my wife and myself, a trust, HCP for us both and house deed and a Declaration of Homestead. Mr silver has been readily available to us to for any questions we have had. His fee was reasonable and i would give him my highest recommendation."

James

January 22, 2019

Will preparation

"Marvin completed our will making the process painless and effortless. We were in a slight time crunch between my travels, vacations and Marvin's schedule. His effort allowed our will to be completed several days earlier than expected. Thank to him and his staff. His detailed explanations throughout the process were clear and easily understood. Overall... very satisfied."

Fred

March 5, 2018

Professional Review

"We have been a client of Marvin's since 2010. We first reached out to him 5 years ago to put together a basic Estate Plan for us. Since we had no idea where to start and what we needed to do, Marvin spent the time and explained the process, then listened to our needs and put together a plan that worked for us. Recently we met with Marvin again because we wanted to revisit the plan we put in place 5 years ago (our financial situation has changed and our family has since grown). Marvin again listened to our needs, then helped guide us to putting in place a more complex Estate Plan. Marvin was very responsive throughout the process and answered every question we had (and there were a lot!). We wouldn't hesitate to use Marvin again and would highly recommended his services to anyone. We would highly recommended Marvin."

Kevin & Kimberly

Excellent attention to details of client needs!

"Marvin Silver has always provided prompt service with detailed attention to my needs. He recently reviewed my trust, will, power of attorney, health care proxy and HIPPA document. He suggested and executed the necessary changes so that they would be up to date. I highly recommend Marvin Silver."

Judy

August 22, 2017

Client/professional Review

"I have been a client of Marvin Silver as well as referred my clients to him in my professional career as a Financial Advisor. Marvin has always been thorough in creating a custom Estate plan for my clients as well as for myself and my wife. He returns phone calls promptly, pays attention to detail, listens to his clients concerns, and explains difficult concepts so that clients understand the impact of his proposals. I would highly recommend him. "

Estate Planning Services

"My wife and I needed to update our estate planning documents and wanted to find someone who was an expert across the various concerns. Fortunately, we discovered Marvin Silver after some research. His knowledge and approach to our specific needs were exemplary and he helped to alleviate any anxiety we may have had. Our engagements were very informative and collaborative with clearly presented options and reasoning at every turn. His knowledge, approach, as well as the firm's professionalism, left us feeling grateful that we had found the right partner to help with our estate planning. We could not have been more pleased with our engagement with Marvin and have told many of our friends of the positive experience we had."

Ken & Colleen

September 11, 2023

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