diff --git a/core/modules/migrate/src/Row.php b/core/modules/migrate/src/Row.php
index 700329c..74424a9 100644
--- a/core/modules/migrate/src/Row.php
+++ b/core/modules/migrate/src/Row.php
@@ -282,7 +282,6 @@ public function getDestinationProperty($property) {
     $parents = explode(static::PROPERTY_SEPARATOR, $property);
     $value = NestedArray::getValue($this->destination, $parents, $key_exists);
     if (!$key_exists) {
-      $value = [];
       $child = array_pop($parents);
       $parent_value = NestedArray::getValue($this->destination, $parents, $key_exists);
       foreach ($parent_value as $key => $subvalue) {