1. Employee and Employer Contributions
401(k) accounts often contain both employee contributions (which are always fully vested) and employer contributions (which may be subject to a vesting schedule). In dividing the account, it’s important to determine:
- Which portions are vested and nonvested
- Whether the alternate payee is entitled only to vested amounts
- How forfeitures (nonvested amounts lost when an employee separates) will be handled
If some employer contributions are not fully vested, those may be excluded from the marital division or subject to reallocation depending on what the divorce decree says.

