diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
index 70d85f9d0a..d86d31d5ba 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
@@ -93,4 +93,5 @@ CAY-2810 Can't use custom operator expression with aggregate functions
 CAY-2811 Incorrect SQL building using ColumnQuery with ASTScalar
 CAY-2813 Regression: Constants.CI_PROPERTY flag is no longer working for MySQL
 CAY-2815 Incorrect translation of aliased expression
-CAY-2827 Saved data-source XML data doesn't correspond to the XSD schema
\ No newline at end of file
+CAY-2827 Saved data-source XML data doesn't correspond to the XSD schema
+CAY-2838 Vertical Inheritance: Problem setting db attribute to null via flattened path
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cayenne/src/main/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/flush/ArcValuesCreationHandler.java b/cayenne/src/main/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/flush/ArcValuesCreationHandler.java
index 91f86bd5d6..3d3b730158 100644
--- a/cayenne/src/main/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/flush/ArcValuesCreationHandler.java
+++ b/cayenne/src/main/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/flush/ArcValuesCreationHandler.java
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ ObjectId processFlattenedPath(ObjectId id, ObjectId finalTargetId, DbEntity enti
                     // should update existing DB row
                     factory.getOrCreate(target, targetId, add ? DbRowOpType.UPDATE : defaultType);
                 }
-                processRelationship(relationship, srcId, targetId, add);
+                processRelationship(relationship, srcId, targetId, true);
                 srcId = targetId; // use target as next source..
             }
         }
diff --git a/cayenne/src/test/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/VerticalInheritanceIT.java b/cayenne/src/test/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/VerticalInheritanceIT.java
index 3e9309a02f..67edd45f9c 100644
--- a/cayenne/src/test/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/VerticalInheritanceIT.java
+++ b/cayenne/src/test/java/org/apache/cayenne/access/VerticalInheritanceIT.java
@@ -617,6 +617,115 @@ public void testUpdateWithRelationship() {
 		context.commitChanges();
 	}
 
+	/**
+     * @link https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CAY-2838
+     */
+	@Test
+	public void testNullifyFlattenedAttribute() {
+		IvConcrete concrete = context.newObject(IvConcrete.class);
+		concrete.setName("Concrete");
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		concrete.setName(null);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		assertNull(concrete.getName());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testNullifyFlattenedRelationship() {
+		IvOther other = context.newObject(IvOther.class);
+		other.setName("other");
+
+		IvImpl impl = context.newObject(IvImpl.class);
+		impl.setName("Impl 1");
+		impl.setOther1(other);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		impl.setOther1(null);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		assertNull(impl.getOther1());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testDeleteFlattenedNoValues() throws SQLException {
+		TableHelper ivAbstractTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_ABSTRACT");
+		ivAbstractTable.setColumns("ID", "PARENT_ID", "TYPE")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.INTEGER, Types.CHAR);
+
+		TableHelper ivConcreteTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_CONCRETE");
+		ivConcreteTable.setColumns("ID", "NAME")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.VARCHAR);
+
+		ivAbstractTable.insert(1, null, "S");
+
+		IvConcrete concrete = SelectById.query(IvConcrete.class, 1).selectOne(context);
+		assertNotNull(concrete);
+		assertNull(concrete.getName());
+
+		context.deleteObject(concrete);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		assertEquals(0, ivAbstractTable.getRowCount());
+		assertEquals(0, ivConcreteTable.getRowCount());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testDeleteFlattenedNullValues() throws SQLException {
+		TableHelper ivAbstractTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_ABSTRACT");
+		ivAbstractTable.setColumns("ID", "PARENT_ID", "TYPE")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.INTEGER, Types.CHAR);
+
+		TableHelper ivConcreteTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_CONCRETE");
+		ivConcreteTable.setColumns("ID", "NAME")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.VARCHAR);
+
+		ivAbstractTable.insert(1, null, "S");
+		ivConcreteTable.insert(1, null);
+
+		IvConcrete concrete = SelectById.query(IvConcrete.class, 1).selectOne(context);
+		assertNotNull(concrete);
+		assertNull(concrete.getName());
+
+		context.deleteObject(concrete);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		assertEquals(0, ivAbstractTable.getRowCount());
+		assertEquals(0, ivConcreteTable.getRowCount());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testDeleteFlattenedNullifyValues() throws SQLException {
+		TableHelper ivAbstractTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_ABSTRACT");
+		ivAbstractTable.setColumns("ID", "PARENT_ID", "TYPE")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.INTEGER, Types.CHAR);
+
+		TableHelper ivConcreteTable = new TableHelper(dbHelper, "IV_CONCRETE");
+		ivConcreteTable.setColumns("ID", "NAME")
+				.setColumnTypes(Types.INTEGER, Types.VARCHAR);
+
+		ivAbstractTable.insert(1, null, "S");
+		ivConcreteTable.insert(1, "test");
+
+		IvConcrete concrete = SelectById.query(IvConcrete.class, 1).selectOne(context);
+		assertNotNull(concrete);
+		assertEquals("test", concrete.getName());
+
+		concrete.setName(null);
+		context.commitChanges();
+        assertNull(concrete.getName());
+
+		assertEquals(1, ivAbstractTable.getRowCount());
+		assertEquals(1, ivConcreteTable.getRowCount());
+
+		context.deleteObject(concrete);
+		context.commitChanges();
+
+		assertEquals(0, ivAbstractTable.getRowCount());
+		assertEquals(0, ivConcreteTable.getRowCount());
+	}
+
 	@Test//(expected = ValidationException.class) // other2 is not mandatory for now
 	public void testInsertWithAttributeAndRelationship() {
 		IvOther other = context.newObject(IvOther.class);