1. Employee and Employer Contributions
This 401(k) plan will likely include both employee salary deferrals (dollar amounts the employee voluntarily saved) and employer contributions (such as matching or profit-sharing). In divorce, either the total balance or just the marital portion may be divided — depending on your agreement or state law.
The QDRO can specify that the alternate payee receives:
- A flat dollar amount
- A percentage of the account as of a specific date
- The marital portion based on date-of-marriage to date-of-separation
It’s important your QDRO clearly defines which contributions are being divided and on what valuation date.

