The process of internal conversion from excited electronic states is investigated theoretically for the case of the vacuum-ultraviolet nuclear transition of 229 Th . Due to the very low transition energy, the 229 Th nucleus offers the unique possibility to open the otherwise forbidden internal conversion nuclear decay channel for thorium ions via optical laser excitation of the electronic shell. We show that this feature can be exploited to investigate the isomeric state properties via observation of internal conversion from excited electronic configurations of Th + and Th 2 + ions. A possible experimental realization of the proposed scenario at the nuclear laser spectroscopy facility IGISOL in Jyväskylä, Finland, is discussed.