ASP.NET VB.NET System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Most probably the oldest issue here and there are loads of help but I can't seem to find an answer to my situation so hopefully someone can cast an eye over this and help.

I have a form on a page that when it loads will only show certain panels depending upon the results of the questions being asked. All was working perfectly fine until I dropped this into a LoginView and now the code doesn't work.

I assume this is due to how the controls are referenced now that they are 'hidden' behind the relevant templates but I can't seem to get the panels to reference correctly so hopefully someone can help.

Here is my page:

Code Behind:
The problem I'm having is at:

Dim vw_pnlYesContact As Panel = VolView.FindControl("pnlYesContact")
            Dim v_bitContactMade As RadioButtonList = TryCast(VolView.FindControl("bitContactMade"), RadioButtonList)

            If v_bitContactMade Is Nothing Then
                vw_pnlYesContact.Visible = False
            Else
                If v_bitContactMade.SelectedItem Is "1" Then
                    vw_pnlYesContact.Visible = True
                Else
                    vw_pnlYesContact.Visible = False
                End If
            End If

Select all Open in new window

I'm trying to determine if the radionbuttonlist (bitContactmade) is 1 or 0 - if 1 show the panel and if 0 then don't.

On page load the panel visibility should be false (that's what I believe I'm doing here) but I keep getting a System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object error every time and it's driving me mad lol.

I assumed I was checking for this in the code above but obviously my little brain isn't comprehending what it needs to so any advice as always guys is appreciated.

Thanx