Money advice: My parents have a lot of debt, but they also have a mortgage. I've got a reverse

Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here . (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Pay Dirt,

Can you elaborate on reverse mortgages and whether they’re a good idea? My in-laws are in their 80s and on limited social security. My mother-in-law loves to spend, spend, spend and has always been that way. My father-in-law is tight with his money, but has mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s, and my wife and her two sisters are concerned mom might get a hold of dad’s bank account and drain it. They have a house worth maybe $700,000, and they owe about $70,000 still on it due to poor financial decisions in the past.

We’ve researched reverse mortgages, but the info is confusing. Given their limited income, would they be able to get one, and if so, does that