diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7d1feb2..4711483 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ void serialization_example(void) {
     serialized_string = json_serialize_to_string(root_value);
     puts(serialized_string);
     json_free_serialized_string(serialized_string);
+    json_value_free(root_value);
 }
 
 ```
diff --git a/tests.c b/tests.c
index dd27f98..123815a 100755
--- a/tests.c
+++ b/tests.c
@@ -367,4 +367,5 @@ void serialization_example(void) {
     serialized_string = json_serialize_to_string(root_value);
     puts(serialized_string);
     json_free_serialized_string(serialized_string);
+    json_value_free(root_value);
 }