Dividing Employee and Employer Contributions
One of the first decisions a QDRO must address is how much of the 401(k) plan should go to the alternate payee. Most commonly, the court order will divide the marital portion of the plan—that is, the contributions made between the date of marriage and the cutoff date (generally the date of separation or divorce filing).
The value includes both employee (participant) deferrals and any vested employer contributions. If the participant accumulated non-vested employer contributions, these may need to be excluded from the QDRO, unless they vest by the time of the division.

