diff --git a/reiserfscore/ibalance.c b/reiserfscore/ibalance.c
index 2a24dc9..1977f99 100644
--- a/reiserfscore/ibalance.c
+++ b/reiserfscore/ibalance.c
@@ -881,8 +881,9 @@ int balance_internal(struct tree_balance *tb,	/* tree_balance structure
 					       insert_key, insert_ptr);
 	}
 
-	memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
 	insert_ptr[0] = new_insert_ptr;
+	if (new_insert_ptr)
+		memcpy(new_insert_key_addr, &new_insert_key, KEY_SIZE);
 
 	return order;
 }