Thanks all... the more I think about it, the more it seems that an annuity would make the most sense once my in-laws downsize from their current house (where they're renting rooms) to a smaller condo that would cost less than the equity they have in their current place. Then taking the difference from that and maybe any existing funds they've accumulated or grown, sans a decent sized 'emergency' lump sum fund, they put that money towards an annuity for their guaranteed monthly payments.
As of now they are going to be receiving monthly payments from the new restaurant owner as they agreed to seller financing which will go on for two years. I think that will help them during this transitionary period and allow them some room to breathe and figure out what they need to do and take care of, hopefully. For the time being, I think they're OK in the current house but we're going to have to have a talk with them about budgeting and making sure they don't go hog-wild. Most of the lump-sum they're getting from the sale is, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on how you look at it) going towards paying back-taxes and various other debts - my wife estimates that they will only be left with about 20% of the proceeds. At the very least, they shouldn't be tempted or as tempted to go off and make some extravagant "treat yo-self" purchase... again, hopefully. They're currently in Taiwan/Korea, attending to some urgent family matters and business, but hope they'll be refreshed from that to where when they come back they'll have a clear perspective. Of course, we are still waiting and hoping for escrow to close before they return.
On a slightly different note, does anyone have recommendations for good banks and credit cards that might be good for people like my in-laws?
They are currently with a Korean bank which my wife and I despise as far as customer service goes, but my in-laws are very comfortable there. The problem is with the various up-charges they have to deal with... supposedly they get a lot of fees waived but we don't really know and it just seems like more overhead than it's worth. Really, any bank where there are tellers that can speak Chinese or Korean would be sufficient for them IMHO.