Employee vs. Employer Contributions
401(k) accounts typically contain both employee and employer contributions. In a divorce, the marital portion of the employee’s contributions and any vested employer matches are usually divided. If the employee made contributions before the marriage or after separation, those are often treated as separate property.
The tricky part? Employer matching contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule. This means that some of those amounts might not be available for division if the employee spouse hasn’t worked for the company long enough. The QDRO must address unvested balances clearly and define how forfeitures will be handled.

