1. Vesting Schedules and Forfeitures
Employer contributions often vest over time. If a participant hasn’t worked at Hayes manufacturing Co.., Inc.. profit sharing 401(k) plan and trust long enough, part of the employer match may be unvested and unavailable for division. A common mistake in QDROs is attempting to award part of an unvested balance to the alternate payee. That portion will be forfeited when the participant leaves employment and cannot be recovered.
Recommendation: Your QDRO should explicitly state that only vested balances as of the date of division are subject to division, or it can require valuation and division at a future date when vesting is complete (though this is less common).

