1. Employee and Employer Contributions
It’s essential to distinguish between amounts the employee (participant) contributed and employer matching or profit-sharing contributions, especially since employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule. Only vested money can be assigned in a QDRO.
If the QDRO attempts to divide unvested funds that later become forfeited, the alternate payee could end up with less than expected. In many cases, we recommend using a shared percentage of the vested account balance as of the designated valuation date (usually the divorce date or plan statement closest to it).

