A final gift from a loved one can sometimes hold deeper meaning for others than the person it was originally meant for.

So, what would you do if your late mother left a sentimental collection to a family member, but they didn’t take care of it? Would you return the last surviving piece to honor her wishes? Or would you keep it safe, knowing it might not be appreciated?

In today’s story, one woman finds herself in this very situation and isn’t sure whether to give the last doll to her niece or not.

Here’s the whole story.

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 died, 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.

She kept a doll.

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 it back to her when she was old enough to appreciate it.

As of now, it’s the only doll left.

We’re from Louisiana, and Hurricane Laura hit, so 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 the hurricane because she let them in the house, and they got ruined.

She doesn’t want to give her the doll.

My twin sister (Jay’s mom) thinks 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 had given her the doll, it would have gotten ruined with the other ones because she didn’t care enough about them to take them 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?

Yikes! That’s a really tough situation.

Let’s see what advice the folks over at Reddit have to offer.

This is how it should’ve been handled.

Here’s someone who thinks she should keep the doll.

Great thoughts.

It’s true that the child didn’t destroy them, but still.

She should just keep the doll.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.