Reverse mortgages - a deadly option?

Reverse mortgages ... you've heard of them?

Are they good? Not good? Bad? Maybe even deadly?

Let's say that Mom and Dad have a significant equity in their home and they are getting along in years. Maybe property taxes are eating away at their disposable income; maybe their income is declining as other expenses increase. Maybe other investments have soured in a recession.

They don't want to sell the house outright. After all, where would they live? Is moving in with the kids an option? Let's say, not.

They also don't want to take on a second or third mortgage, because that would require payments.

So along comes what looks like a solution. What about drawing out the equity in the home on a scheduled arrangement, sort of like an annuity?

While the house is appreciating and even just maintaining its value, a reverse mortgage might work. What would keep it from working?

Living too long would keep it from working out well as a financial arrangement. What if the old folks live too long and get to the limit of the equity? Or the market heads down, and the equity shrinks as the market value of the house drops.

If the old folks are the only ones dependent on the equity (or the reverse mortgage), it could work out okay.

What does it do to future estate values, such as might be left to heirs? A reverse mortgage will deplete estate assets, because the old folks will be consuming the equity. It shrinks a future inheritance.

Who might not like to see such a bleak future?