Instantiate a variable in Kotlin only if it is a null?

Lets say, I have a variable:

var myObject : MyObject? = null

it should be cleared in some place :

myObject?.clear
myObject = null

and should be definitely non-nullable in a place of usage. In Java I can do something like this:

private MyObject getMyObject(){
  if(myObject == null) {
    myObject = new MyObject()
  }
  return myObject
}

The question: How can I achieve that in Kotlin?

I found a suggestion to use elvis-operator:

private fun getMyObject() = myObject ?: MyObject()

but that does not assign a result (if new instance of MyObject would be created) to the myObject variable. Please help me with solution and explanation. thanks ahead

The issue is that the getter and setter of a property can't have different types. I'd suggest a separate nullable private property and a method for clearing it:

private var _myObject: MyObject? = null

var myObject: MyObject // or val, depending
    get() {
        if (_myObject == null) { _myObject = MyObject() }
        return _myObject!!
    }
    set(value: MyObject) { 
        _myObject?.clear()
        _myObject = value
    }

fun clearMyObject() {
    _myObject?.clear()
    _myObject = null
}

If you need this pattern more than once, write a delegate.