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Estate planners counseling families who have children with disabilities are increasingly confronted with planning dilemmas that mirror the social, financial, and societal issues presented by an aging population. It is not uncommon when discussing "special needs" planning with clients to discover that they are in their 70s or 80s and possibly in declining health, and that their child with special needs is a 50-year-old who has never lived anywhere but at home and is receiving public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. This scenario presents special problems for the client and the attorney. Without advance planning, eligibility for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care essentially requires the impoverishment of the senior. However, there are some provisions in the long-term care Medicaid statutes and regulations (both federal and state) that offer certain opportunities to seniors who have children with disabilities to provide for those children without initially depleting their assets in the event of the senior's nursing home placement. This article discusses some planning techniques and other planning issues and opportunities that need to be addressed in this area of practice.

The leading 200 art collectors in the world are listed, along with their specific areas of interest. Featured collectors include Graham Kirkham of London, England; Philippe and Marion Lambert of Geneva, Switzerland; Jon and Barbara Landau of Rye, NY; and Tsukasa Shisima of Fukuoka, Japan.

The leading 25 art collectors in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela are listed along with a brief description of the art collecting atmosphere in each of the countries.

International artists who are receiving increasing attention include Montserrat Soto, Siobhan Hapaska, Andreas M. Kaufmann, Gwen Rouvillois, Teresa Maresca, the Fabulous Tosa Brothers Maywadenki, Sandra Ramos, Ugo Rondinone, Tim Hawkinson.

Two hundred of the most influential international art collectors are listed and profiled. The highlighted collectors include Jean-Paul and Monique Barbier-Mueller of Geneva, Switzerland, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Josef and Anna Froehlich of Stuttgart, Germany.

Italy is, in many ways, a country experiencing uncertain times and its art has become a reflection of this uncertainty and instability. Art exhibitions, with emphasis on various social issues, politics, and sex, have become prevalent throughout the country.

The magnificent ceiling mural of the Sistine Chapel has been restored, after 13 years of painstaking labor. Michelangelo spent a total of nine years on the mural, completing his work in 1541. It was necessary for the restoration team to remove layers of dust, soot and glue from the fresco.

The art world of Boston, Massachusetts, is strong and vibrant in a time when the country's general economy is slumping. Various artists, museums, and galleries in the city are discussed.

A description is presented of the popularity of contemporary art in Milan, Italy. The transformation of unused industrial units into a gallery for the exhibition of contemporary sculpture is discussed.

Issues are presented concerning the rising importance of Nagoya, Japan, as a center for fine art. The collaboration between the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Nagoya Foundation for the Arts to open a museum in Japan is discussed.

The restoration of 'The Last Supper,' which has been called the most difficult restoration in the world, has been in progress for 16 years. The painting was badly disintegrated into small scales of color and it has been necessary to clean each scale under a microscope.

The four-year restoration of Michelangelo's 'Last Judgment' in the Sistine Chapel has been completed, following the 10-year restoration of the chapel ceiling. Most, but not all, experts have praised the work of the restorers.

Amnon Barzel helped plan Italy's first major contemporary art museum in Prato and served as director for four years. He left to become founding director of a yet-to-be-built Museum of Contemporary Art in Florence and to work on similar projects in Turku, Finland and Istanbul, Turkey.

The Uffizi Gallery, the most important museum in Florence, houses most of the city's art treasures. Located in a building designed in 1560, the museum has a collection of influential masterworks that draws approximately one million visitors a year, both tourists and scholars.