Employer Contributions and Vesting
Employer profit-sharing or matching contributions may not be fully vested. That means the employee may not have earned full ownership of those funds yet. In a QDRO, it’s important to state whether only vested funds are being divided or if even the non-vested portions should eventually be shared.
We often recommend language that automatically grants the alternate payee a percentage of whatever does vest in the future, if that’s what the parties intend. Without clear QDRO wording, an alternate payee could lose out on unvested amounts.

