Introduction
Dividing retirement assets during a divorce can be one of the most important—and complex—parts of the process. If you or your spouse has an account in the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan, you’ll need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to legally divide that account. The QDRO gives the retirement plan administrator the legal authorization to allocate a portion of the account to the non-account-holding spouse without triggering early withdrawal penalties or taxes.
But not all QDROs are created equal. 401(k) plans come with unique features like vesting schedules, loan rules, and Roth/traditional account distinctions. The key is knowing how to handle those correctly for this specific plan—especially since small mistakes can lead to big financial surprises down the road.
In this article, we’ll walk you through how to divide the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan in your divorce and help you avoid common QDRO pitfalls.
Plan-Specific Details for the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan
Here’s what we know about this particular plan:
- Plan Name: Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan
- Sponsor: Aware recovery care, Inc.
- Address: 35 Thorpe Avenue, Unit 104
- Industry: General Business
- Organization Type: Corporation
- Status: Active
- Plan Year: Unknown to Unknown
- Effective Date: Unknown
- Plan Number & EIN: Unknown (must be obtained from the plan administrator during QDRO drafting)
Because this is a 401(k) plan sponsored by a corporation in the general business sector, it’s subject to specific administrative rules under ERISA—especially in how QDROs are processed. That means details like vesting and contribution types matter, and you’ll want a QDRO that cleanly addresses them.
Understanding What Can Be Divided
Employee Contributions
The participant’s contributions to the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan are fully divisible under a QDRO. That includes both pre-tax (traditional) and after-tax (Roth) contributions. These can usually be split by percentage or a fixed dollar amount. The QDRO should clearly specify the valuation date—either the date of divorce, QDRO entry date, or another custom date agreed upon by the parties.
Employer Contributions and Vesting Rules
Things get trickier with the employer contributions. These are typically subject to a vesting schedule, which means there may be a portion of employer contributions that the participant has not yet earned. Unvested employer contributions generally cannot be assigned to the alternate payee (the non-participant spouse) under a QDRO. So it’s essential your order distinguishes between vested and unvested funds as of the valuation date.
We recommend confirming with the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan administrator what the participant’s exact vesting percentage is as of the division date you’ll be using. That helps eliminate confusion (and unexpected reductions in payout) later.
Loan Balances
If the participant has taken out a loan from the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan, that loan balance typically reduces the total divisible account balance. Some plan administrators will let you apportion the loan between both spouses, while others will attribute it solely to the participant. Either way, your QDRO must address the treatment of any outstanding loan—ignoring it creates accounting problems when it’s time to divide the funds.
Roth vs. Traditional Accounts
Many 401(k) plans now include both traditional (pre-tax) and Roth (after-tax) components. Both are divisible, but it’s critical to differentiate between them in the QDRO. Why? Because the tax treatment of these accounts is completely different. A Roth 401(k) distribution to the alternate payee, under the right conditions, is tax-free. A traditional 401(k) distribution, meanwhile, will be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn.
A properly drafted QDRO for the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan should break down any division into traditional and Roth portions separately—but still treat them as part of the same overall percentage or dollar assignment.
QDRO Requirements for 401(k) Plans Like This One
The overview of a QDRO for the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan must include these required elements:
- Full legal names and mailing addresses of both spouses
- The official plan name: Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan
- The participant’s Social Security number (not filed publicly)
- The alternate payee’s Social Security number (also not publicly filed)
- Exact dollar amount or percentage to be awarded
- Valuation date for dividing the account
- Clear treatment of loans, vesting, and account types (Roth/traditional)
You must also ensure the submission includes the Plan Number and EIN—these are typically obtained by requesting them from the HR or plan department at Aware recovery care, Inc. during the QDRO process.
Why It’s Critical to Get the QDRO Right the First Time
Submitting a QDRO that gets rejected by the administrator can delay your asset division for months—sometimes even years. Even worse, an improperly drafted QDRO may be processed, but in a way that leaves one spouse shortchanged because of loan offsets, tax surprises, or exclusion of certain funds.
We’ve seen common QDRO mistakes that include failing to account for unvested employer contributions, not mentioning loan balances, or not clearly saying whether the assignment includes earnings and losses. You can avoid these with the right help from the start.
Check out our article on common QDRO mistakes for more detailed examples of what can go wrong.
How We Handle Your Entire QDRO—from Start to Finish
At PeacockQDROs, we’ve completed thousands of QDROs from start to finish. That means we don’t just draft the order and leave you to figure out the rest. We handle:
- Document preparation
- Preapproval submission (where available)
- Court filing
- Court-certified copies
- Final submission to the plan administrator
- Follow-up and confirmation
That’s what sets us apart from firms that only prepare the document and hand it off to you. We maintain near-perfect reviews and pride ourselves on a track record of doing things the right way.
If you’re wondering how long this might take, check out our breakdown on how long it takes to finalize a QDRO.
We also offer extensive QDRO resources for those who want to better understand the process and plan accordingly.
Final Thoughts
The Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan is a company-sponsored retirement plan that must be divided by QDRO if part of a divorce settlement. Don’t underestimate how detailed and plan-specific these documents need to be. Whether you’re the spouse who earned the benefits or the spouse receiving a share, getting the QDRO right is essential to protecting your side of the settlement.
We’re here to help at every stage—knowledge, accuracy, and follow-through are what we promise.
Talk to a QDRO Specialist Today
If your divorce was in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, or North Dakota, and you have questions about qualified domestic relations orders or dividing retirement assets like the Aware Recovery Care 401(k) Savings Plan, contact PeacockQDROs. We specialize in QDROs and have successfully processed thousands of orders from start to finish.
Get the answers you need—explore our QDRO resources or reach out for personalized help if you’re in one of our service states.