diff --git a/skbase/base/_base.py b/skbase/base/_base.py
index bf1d89bc..28512554 100644
--- a/skbase/base/_base.py
+++ b/skbase/base/_base.py
@@ -1294,10 +1294,35 @@ def _get_fitted_params_default(self, obj=None):
         ]
 
         def getattr_safe(obj, attr):
+            """Get attribute of object, safely.
+
+            Safe version of getattr, that returns None if attribute does not exist,
+            or if an exception is raised during getattr.
+            Also returns a boolean indicating whether the attribute was successfully
+            retrieved, to distinguish between None value and non-existent attribute,
+            or exception during getattr.
+
+            Parameters
+            ----------
+            obj : any object
+                object to get attribute from
+            attr : str
+                attribute name to get from obj
+
+            Returns
+            -------
+            attr : Any
+                attribute of obj, if it exists and does not raise on getattr;
+                otherwise None
+            success : bool
+                whether the attribute was successfully retrieved
+            """
             try:
                 if hasattr(obj, attr):
                     attr = getattr(obj, attr)
                     return attr, True
+                else:
+                    return None, False
             except Exception:
                 return None, False
 
@@ -1305,10 +1330,9 @@ def getattr_safe(obj, attr):
 
         for p in fitted_params:
             attr, success = getattr_safe(obj, p)
-            if not success:
-                continue
-            p_name = p[:-1]  # remove the "_" at the end to get the parameter name
-            fitted_param_dict[p_name] = attr
+            if success:
+                p_name = p[:-1]  # remove the "_" at the end to get the parameter name
+                fitted_param_dict[p_name] = attr
 
         return fitted_param_dict