"Ultimately the decision of whether to bequest a Roth or traditional IRA should be driven by a comparison of the original IRA owner's marginal tax rate and the expected marginal tax rate of the beneficiary in the future. If the beneficiary's tax rates will be higher, it's better for the current IRA owner to go ahead and convert the IRA, paying the taxes now at current rates and leaving the higher-income beneficiary a tax-free account. But if the beneficiary's tax rates will be lower -- for any number of reasons -- then the best thing a wealthy IRA owner can do is leave a traditional IRA, and let the beneficiary pay the taxes at his own lower tax rate."  MORE >>