Employee vs. Employer Contributions
401(k) accounts typically include the employee’s own contributions and those made by the employer. The QDRO must clearly address how these contributions are divided:
- Employee contributions are usually 100% vested immediately and easy to split.
- Employer contributions may be subject to a vesting schedule and may include forfeiture of non-vested funds upon plan separation.
One mistake we see far too often is allocating a percentage of “total account balance” without accounting for what portion is fully vested. That can lead to legal battles later or rejection by the plan administrator.

