diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseDocument.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseDocument.java
index 49428c503..483467163 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseDocument.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseDocument.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.List;
 
 /**
  * A {@link CouchbaseDocument} is an abstract representation of a document stored inside Couchbase Server.
@@ -275,8 +276,14 @@ private void verifyValueType(final Object value) {
 		if (CouchbaseSimpleTypes.DOCUMENT_TYPES.isSimpleType(clazz)) {
 			return;
 		}
+		
+		// Special handling for List implementations like Collections.SingletonList and ArrayList
+		if (value instanceof List) {
+			return;
+		}
+		
 		throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-				"Attribute of type " + clazz.getCanonicalName() + " cannot be stored and must be converted.");
+				"Attribute of type " + clazz.getCanonicalName() + " cannot be stored in document and must be converted.");
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseList.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseList.java
index 7b054edfc..ef547d594 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseList.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/core/mapping/CouchbaseList.java
@@ -200,9 +200,14 @@ private void verifyValueType(final Object value) {
 		if (simpleTypeHolder.isSimpleType(clazz)) {
 			return;
 		}
+		
+		// Special handling for List implementations like Collections.SingletonList and ArrayList
+		if (value instanceof List) {
+			return;
+		}
 
 		throw new IllegalArgumentException(
-				"Attribute of type " + clazz.getCanonicalName() + " can not be stored and must be converted.");
+				"Attribute of type " + clazz.getCanonicalName() + " cannot be stored in list and must be converted.");
 	}
 
 	/**