Putting money into retirement fund

[badams2011]

My dad passed away this year and I am one of his beneficiaries. I've always heard that putting money in a roth IRA is better than just an IRA but I wanted to ask if that's actually true. How do I decide which to use (I'm 30 years old and won't be using the money for a while)? And would it better to put all of the money into one roth IRA/IRA account, or is there a benefit to having two or three different roth IRA/IRA accounts? 

[TeriH]

Sorry for your loss, but a nest egg can really help out.  A Roth is considered most advantageous for a young person because you pay up front with after tax dollars and it will grow and come out tax free.  That's the difference between it and a traditional IRA.  

You don't need multiple accounts, less is more and simpler.  One IRA and one Roth.  And a 401k if available.

Also, after the contributions have aged 5 years, you can withdraw the contribution, not the earnings, just the contribution.

It also depends on exactly what you are inheriting.  if it is an ira, then you'll need to pay taxes, and take it out over 10 years.