diff --git a/decode_ptr.go b/decode_ptr.go
index a62a691..2b507bf 100644
--- a/decode_ptr.go
+++ b/decode_ptr.go
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ func (d *ptrDecoder) decodeStream(s *stream, p unsafe.Pointer) error {
 		if err := nullBytes(s); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		*(*unsafe.Pointer)(p) = nil
 		return nil
 	}
 	newptr := unsafe_New(d.typ)
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ func (d *ptrDecoder) decode(buf []byte, cursor int64, p unsafe.Pointer) (int64,
 		if buf[cursor+3] != 'l' {
 			return 0, errInvalidCharacter(buf[cursor+3], "null", cursor)
 		}
+		*(*unsafe.Pointer)(p) = nil
 		cursor += 4
 		return cursor, nil
 	}