1. Employee Contributions vs. Employer Contributions
Employee contributions are always fully vested—meaning they’re fully owned by the participant. But employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule. If the employee has not met years-of-service requirements, a portion of the employer match may be forfeited and therefore not divisible in the QDRO.
Make sure the QDRO specifies whether each account component—employee deferrals or employer match—should be split, and whether the alternate payee (usually the spouse) gets a portion of vested-only or vested and unvested assets.

