diff --git a/src/files.c b/src/files.c
index 9102ea7b..e20e7a16 100644
--- a/src/files.c
+++ b/src/files.c
@@ -1874,11 +1874,13 @@ int do_writeout(bool exiting)
 		bool different_name = (strcmp(full_answer,
 			full_filename) != 0);
 		struct stat st;
-		bool name_exists = (stat(full_answer, &st) != -1);
+		bool name_exists;
 
 		free(full_filename);
 		free(full_answer);
 
+		name_exists = (stat(answer, &st) != -1);
+
 		if (different_name) {
 		    if (name_exists) {
 			/* If we're using restricted mode, we aren't