1. Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) plans hold two primary types of contributions: employee deferrals and employer profit sharing. Not all employer contributions are fully owned by the employee right away—some are subject to a vesting schedule. A QDRO must identify which contributions are marital and which are not.
For example, even though the account balance might show $100,000, a portion of that may be unvested employer contributions. If those funds are not fully vested as of the date used for valuation (e.g., date of divorce or separation), they may be excluded from division in the QDRO or forfeited outright under plan terms.

