Entitled 29-year-old takes porcelain doll from late grandma's collection, complains when her sister insists she should give it to 10-year-old niece who it was bequeathed to: 'My niece let all of the remaining five dolls get ruined'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Feb 3, 2025 1:00 PM EST

There is nothing quite like the promise of an inheritance to cause a rupture in a family dynamic, and this doesn't even have to involve any big-ticket items like a house or a large sum of money. Any object, no matter how small, can be used as a means to hash out resentments and conflicts that have long been an issue between siblings, parents, children, and more. 

Whether they are expensive or not, items that have sentimental value are often the ones that cause arguments. After all, they are one of the best ways to remember deceased relatives. Many people want to be seen as the one to preserve a family tradition, or for these things to help signal that they are the new head of the family. Also, sometimes it is just something that they have always liked and had earmarked to own when a person passes, no matter what others might think.

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  • This was what one woman's reasoning involved when she took one of her late grandmother's porcelain dolls for herself, although her mother, who had also passed, dictated that the entire collection of six was meant to be left to her 6-year-old niece. Her niece was given the rest of the dolls, but they were ruined after her family had to evacuate for a hurricane. This led her mom to ask the woman to give away the remaining doll in line with their grandma's wishes, but she refused, reasoning that she appreciated it more. She wasn't sure if she was being unreasonable or not.

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    AITA for not giving my niece the porcelain doll my mother left for her?

    My niece Jay(10F) was the only Granddaughter when my mother died in 2020. When she did, she wanted my niece to have her porcelain doll collection which had around 6 dolls. These porcelain dolls were around when I was a child and I had memories of getting in trouble for playing with them. They were absolutely beautiful. Well, when my mother died I (29F) decided to keep ONE doll, I know it wasn't left to me, but I felt like they meant more to me than they could to my niece. I contemplated giving i
    via QueenB1253
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    from Louisiana and hurricane Laura hit... when we evacuated. I took the doll with me because I knew it was sentimental and irreplaceable. My niece, however let all of the remaining five dolls get ruined in hurricane because she let them in the house when where got ruined. My twin sister (Jays mom) thanks that it's only fair that I give Jay the doll. I kept safe because after all it was left for her.... My argument is that if I would have gave her the doll, it would have gotten ruined with the ot
    via QueenB1253
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    because she didn't care enough about them to take them her with her. Fast-forward, we are now in 2025 and I have a daughter of my own. I 100 % believe if my mom would have known she was gonna have another granddaughter she would have left a doll to her. AITA?
    via QueenB1253
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    While many were aghast at her behavior, others wondered if there was more to the story.

    True-Blackberry-3080 YTA for a few reasons. 1. It is not nor was it ever your doll. It was always your niece's doll. Your mother very specifically said they were all to go to your niece. If you wanted one you should have told your mother this before she did and asked if you could have one. 2. your niece didn't leave the doll during a hurricane evacuation because she didn't give a cr p about the dolls...they were left because as a minor young child she was relying on her parents to get out in an
    via True-Blackberry-3080
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    Super Ground9690 Hilarious expecting a 10year old child to think about some porcelain dolls when she's being evacuated to escape a hurricane! Edit: I didn't clock the dates - actually OP's niece was SIX when the hurricane happened!
    via Super_Ground9690
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    tazdoestheinternet It's worse than that. Hurricane Laura was in 2020, when the child was 6. She expected a 6 year old to wrap and carry out 5 China dolls in the middle of a hurricane evacuation. Editing to add the Wikipedia page for Hurricane Laura a couple of people are blaming the kid and the kid's mum for "not taking care" of the dolls. 81 people di d in Hurricane Laura. as
    via tazdoestheinternet
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    dvioletta Also, OP took one doll, which was probably easier to pack up than five dolls, which we have no idea how big they might have been or where they were stored. I am sure the family lost a lot more than just those 5 dolls that had great sentimental value. I probably have two dolls I would try to take with me, but there is only me to look after. I am not trying to sort out a family that probably contains a small, frightened child trying to understand all the chaos around them. OP is an AH tw
    via dvioletta
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    Finding Fit6035 YTA. Can't believe your holding against your niece that she left the dolls during a HURRICANE. Do you think someone that young would be thinking of the dolls when something that scary is going on? Your in the wrong for keeping the doll to begin with when you know your mom wanted your niece to have them all. And your a grown adult, you know it was wrong but you still did it anyways. If you decide to keep it for your daughter you'll most likely face a lot of backlash from your fami
    via FindingFit6035
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    PaladinHeir YTA. The doll is not yours to keep, period. Also hang on. Your niece is 10 now, right? Laura happened in 2020. You're really trying to justify yourself by blaming a 6-year-old for not taking her dolls with her? Of her not caring enough? Ew, honestly. Give the doll back, thief.
    via PaladinHeir
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    PettyLittlePirate This comment needs more attention because the child wasn't even 10. She was closer to 5 or 6! Like not even old enough to get ready for school by herself or make herself a sandwich or do anything, fully dependent on her parents aid during a disaster that could havelled her or her family, and OP is blaming her for not caring about the dolls!? OP you're disgusting. You're a thief and if you still live in hurricane territory, god forbid you ever wind up in a situation where you ha
    via PettyLittlePirate
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    CheezeLoueez08 And she's a mom now. God help her kid. With a mom like that. Wow.
    via CheezeLoueez08
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    merlinshairyballs I don't exactly have a judgement but i don't think it's fair to hold a natural disaster against your niece. She's a minor and obviously not thinking clearly. She didn't destroy them, an act of god did. You should perhaps be a bit more fair towards her.
    via merlinshairyblls
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    theatermouse Even if, at 6 years old, she had WANTED to take all the dolls, her parents may have told her to leave them. My understanding of evacuations is that you take people, pets, important papers, and maybe a suitcase of clothes each if you have time for that!
    via theatermouse
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    Conscious-Shoulder14 YTA. You are going against your mother's direct wishes and stealing from your niece. Give her the doll; it doesn't belong to you whether you like it or not.
    via Conscious-Shoulder14
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    Plane_Alternative_42 YTA Legally it's not your's to keep. Further what grown woman writes the phrase "she let them get ruined by the hurricane" especially about a child. Unless she picked them up, took them outside, let them get waterlogged and strewn about thus INTENTIONALLY ruining the dolls, your adolescent niece had nothing to do with the natural disaster and thinking otherwise is absolutely ridiculous. People are evacuating to save their lives not family keepsakes. SMH
    via Plane_Alternative_42
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    tazdoestheinternet The kid was 6, 6 years old when hurricane Laura hit. She likely had no say in whether they got packed or not!
    via tazdoestheinternet
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    LifeSux_N_Then You Di "These porcelain dolls were around when I was a child and I had memories of getting in trouble for playing with them." Do you think the fact that you weren't allowed to play with them as a child, but then your mother hands all of them over to another child (albeit your niece), is what prompted you to think you were justified in keeping one? I'm not going to say that you're the a hole, because I don't think it's that straightforward. Inheritances can be tricky and sometimes
    via LifeSux_N_ThenYouDie
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    Illustrious March 192 This is such a good take. While I think the OP is technically wrong because the doll wasn't left to her, I think her mother was the AH in this situation. The mother didn't allow her own child to play with the dolls but leaves them ALL to a grandchild. She had 2 daughters and 6 dolls, why couldn't she split them up 3 to each or even 2 to both daughters and 2 to the grandkids? For this reason I can't call OP an ah. I'm not saying she's right but I understand. Also many of the
    via Illustrious_March192
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    Baconcm I know Im gonna be downvoted for this, but I'm going with NAH. You told your cousin you were taking one of the dolls when you did. It's a horrible thing that happened with the hurricane, but I seriously doubt a six year old actually played with those dolls, let alone cared about them. I've always grown up being taught to care more about the sentimental things over the monetary things, so I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes (the only difference is my family wouldn't ha
    via Baconcm
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    Luna Tytan Thank you for the only sane comment on this post. People are so up in arms over "stealing from a 6 year old", no 6yo I knew is gonna care about a dusty old antique. And I knew a lot of 6 yos. OP took one, single doll out of 6 total. Are they not allowed to have nostalgia for their own childhood? Is OP having sentimental value for this item a bad thing? Being upset about the hurricane is an entire other can of beans, and it is unacceptable to essentially blame a child for a natural dis
    via LunaTytan

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