diff --git a/lib/WebGUI/Asset.pm b/lib/WebGUI/Asset.pm
index 73bff8518..0eb0f86f5 100644
--- a/lib/WebGUI/Asset.pm
+++ b/lib/WebGUI/Asset.pm
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ property  url => (
             builder         => '_default_url',
           );
 sub _default_url {
-    return $_[0]->assetId;
+    return $_[0]->fixUrl;
 }
 
 around url => sub {
@@ -701,7 +701,9 @@ sub fixUrl {
 
 	# build a URL from the parent
 	unless ($url) {
-		$url = $self->getParent->url;
+        if (my $parent = $self->getParent) {
+            $url = $parent->url;
+        }
 		$url =~ s/(.*)\..*/$1/;
 		$url .= '/'.$self->menuTitle;
 	}
diff --git a/t/Asset.t b/t/Asset.t
index 9487b8feb..31af7bd84 100644
--- a/t/Asset.t
+++ b/t/Asset.t
@@ -389,4 +389,15 @@ my $session = WebGUI::Test->session;
     cmp_deeply($classes, [qw/WebGUI::Asset/], 'Any asset okay');
 }
 
+{
+    note "url, inherited URLs from parent";
+    my $home  = WebGUI::Asset->getDefault($session);
+    my $asset = $home->addChild({
+        className => 'WebGUI::Asset::Wobject::Article',
+        title     => 'sub',
+    });
+    WebGUI::Test->addToCleanup($asset);
+    is $asset->url, 'home/sub', 'by default, asset gets a url from the title, and the parent';
+}
+
 done_testing;