Employee and Employer Contributions
This plan may involve both employee deferrals and employer matching or profit sharing contributions. In a divorce, it’s vital to consider:
- How much of the balance came from employee vs. employer contributions
- If the participant is fully vested in employer contributions at the time of divorce
- Whether to divide only vested funds or future accruals
Unvested employer contributions can’t legally be paid out to the alternate payee. If vesting is ongoing, we can incorporate language in the QDRO for post-separation sharing of newly vested funds—but that requires careful planning.

