verna01 said:
My husband said he actually LOST money in his 401K between the years 1994-2005. So, he thinks I'll owe him money. Or, get nothing at all.
That would be quantifiable, if true.
And yes, depending upon what investments within the 401K he was holding, he would very well have seen a drop in values. Tech stocks, for example. Bond values. Company stock, perhaps, as that often makes up a large chunk of a 401K via matching funds. Say, for example, he worked for a previously overvalued stock company and held a LOT of company stock because matching funds had been paid in stock, he might see half his 401k holdings plummet.
Enron is one example of how this can happen.
Basically you each should be entitled to half any increase in each other's retirement accounts and other marital property from the marriage forward.
If his retirement account was truly worth the same then as now (because of market forces, rather than tampering), then you may NOT be entitled to anything from it, as it did not accrue DURING the marriage. Many retirement accounts depend fully on participant contributions. If he was not contributing during the marriage, and you were not contributing to yours, neither of you would have added to your 401k values DURING the marriage, and any accrual would have been based on performance of the holdings within those 401k's..