‘They stole from me’: Parents donate a piano their daughter inherited from her grandmother to their local church, they refuse to reconcile

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 14, 2025 6:00 PM EST

Loved ones leave behind all different kinds of belongings when they pass. It's a rite of passage for anyone nearing the end of their life. Does little Johnny inherit the family home? Does cousin Jill get cut out of the will because she never cared to visit you in the hospital? At the end of the day, the person who owns the assets gets to decide what to do with them so long as they're of sound mind. If they fail to finalize a will, that's a different story, which you can read about here.

But what happens when you receive what was rightfully left to you in someone's will, and then, your family decides to donate it without your consent? You'd probably be fuming and demand they get it back, right?

The woman in the story you're about to read does exactly that when her parents donate a piano that her late grandmother left her. The parents claim that the piano was sitting in the basement, unused, though the woman begs to differ. The parents donated the instrument to their local church, so the woman decides to take it up with the pastor. Scroll below to continue reading the story.

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  • 01
    a woman sitting on a bench playing a piano
    via Bahar Masoudi

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "AITJ for demanding my parents get my grandma’s piano back after they ‘donated’ it without asking"

    Im 26F and grew up playing my grandmas upright piano. When she passed, she specifically told me I could have it if I kept playing.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 03
    I live in a tiny apartment so the piano stayed in my parents basement, but I come over once a week to practice and I help pay a bit toward their higher electric bill since the dehumidifier runs a lot.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 04
    We all called it "my piano", no confusion there. Last weekend I showed up with new sheet music and the corner where the piano sits was empty.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 05
    My dad very casually said, oh yeah, pastor Mark mentioned the church needed an instrument for the kids choir so we donated it.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 06
    cathedral interior
    via Debby Hudson for Unsplash
  • 07
    He already had a moving company take it on Tuesday. I thought he was joking. When I realized he wasnt, I kind of lost it.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 08
    I told them it wasnt theirs to donate, that grandma left it to me, and that I would never have agreed.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 09
    My mom snapped back that "things are meant to be used, not sit in basements" and accused me of being materialistic about "just wood and strings".
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 10
    I went home, cooled off a bit, then emailed the pastor explaining the situation. I said very politely that the piano actually belongs to me and was given to me in my grandmas will, and asked if there was any way we could undo the donation.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 11
    He replied kindly and said of course, he had no idea, and that hed arrange for it to be brought back if I cover the movers.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 12
    My parents are furious that I "dragged the church into family drama" and say theyre embarrassed and that grandma would be ashamed of me for making a fuss over a donation to God.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 13
    I still feel sick about it but also feel like they stole from me. TLDR: grandma left me her piano, my parents gave it to their church without asking, I contacted the pastor to get it back, now my parents say Im a jerk for embarrassing them.
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 14
    AITJ
    via awkward_sun_flower
  • 15
    BeautifulChaosEnergy Yah you need to find a new place to store it
    via BeautifulChaosEnergy
  • 16
    Alien-lifeform66 NTJ but don't take it back to your parents' basement. It will mysteriously get damaged or sold or given away to someone who's name they can't remember...
    via Alien-lifeform66*
  • 17
    SweetMaam It's your inheritance so they had no business donating it. However it is their home, so move it to YOUR ADDRESS. Consider this a lucky circumstance that the donation could be retrieved. If you don't move it to your own place, next time it may be gone forever. Also, after a move your piano must be tuned, but I'd recommend getting it tuned after it's moved to YOUR ADDRESS.
    via SweetMaam
  • 18
    Sweaty_Painting_8356 Your parents should be ashamed they donated something STOLEN to their church. They should be ashamed they disrespected their own mother's dying wishes. You're not the jerk. But you need to remove all of your remaining belongings and inheritance from your parents' home before anything else goes missing.
    via Sweaty_Painting_8356
  • 19
    Garden_Lady2 Tell your parents that your Grandma would be furious with them for giving away the piano in the first place. I bet she would insist that they pay for the moving costs to get the piano back!
    via Garden_Lady2
  • 20
    sanityjanity Your mother's comment makes no sense. You *were* using the piano every week. And it's not materialism. You weren't demanding the piano back in order to sell it. There's some kind of missing reason here. Are they mad at you? Trying to make space in the basement? Did they *sell* it to the church?
    via sanityjanity
  • 21
    Zero_Travity You people are jerks "Parents aren't obligated to store a piano" I am a parent and would store my child's piano in my basement until I leave this Earth. It's a piano and storage space.... Boomers, what will be one day referred to as "the worst generation". Also any boomer Redditors feel free to come at me. Make sure you press alt+F4 right before you reply to add the correct formatting. Fucking help your kids people, and if that means storing a piano then it means storing a piano.
    via Zero_Travity

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