Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans consist of both employee salary deferrals and employer contributions (such as matching or profit-sharing). The QDRO needs to specify what portion of each is being awarded to the alternate payee (usually the ex-spouse).
If your divorce finalizes years after the marriage ended, carefully defining the date range of marital contributions is critical. Are you dividing account gains and losses up to the date of distribution? These decisions impact what your ex-spouse receives and must be clearly explained in the QDRO.

