Dividing Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k)s typically include both employee contributions (money your spouse personally contributed from their paycheck) and employer contributions (the company’s match or profit-sharing contributions). If your QDRO doesn’t clearly spell out how both types are handled, the plan administrator may reject it—or worse, divide it incorrectly.
With the Project Play Therapy LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, you’ll want to specify how the division should apply to:
- Pre-marital vs. marital contributions
- Post-separation contributions
- Matching and profit-sharing contributions
We often recommend basing division on a percentage of the account as of a specific valuation date (like the date of separation or divorce), rather than a fixed dollar amount. This allows for more accurate and equitable division, especially when investment fluctuations are involved.

