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…