diff --git a/test12/src/main/java/org/apache/myfaces/test/el/MockExpressionFactory.java b/test12/src/main/java/org/apache/myfaces/test/el/MockExpressionFactory.java
index a86d7b3..350848e 100644
--- a/test12/src/main/java/org/apache/myfaces/test/el/MockExpressionFactory.java
+++ b/test12/src/main/java/org/apache/myfaces/test/el/MockExpressionFactory.java
@@ -123,6 +123,10 @@
         if ((object != null) && targetType.isAssignableFrom(object.getClass())) {
             return object;
         }
+        
+        // new to spec
+        if (object == null)
+            return null;
 
         // We do not know how to perform this conversion
         throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot convert " + object + " to " + targetType.getName());