Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans often include:
- Employee elective deferrals – These are usually considered marital property and divided equally or equitably depending on your jurisdiction.
- Employer matching or profit-sharing contributions – Here’s where things can get tricky. If these contributions are subject to a vesting schedule, the QDRO needs to spell out how unvested portions are handled. You don’t want to mistakenly award dollars that the participant doesn’t own yet—or miss funds that should be included later.

