Loan Balances
One major issue in dividing 401(k)s is whether the participant has an existing loan against their account. A QDRO can divide only what is of value in the plan as of the division date. If there is a $20,000 loan balance, and the account value is $100,000 (without adjusting for the loan), the available balance is effectively $80,000 unless otherwise stated in the QDRO. It’s important to specify whether loan balances are included or excluded in the marital portion calculation.

