If we have only been married a little over a year, is she entitled to my 401k?

Ohio law provides that any property earned "during the marriage" is marital. The law also provides that marital property is to be divided equitably and that the starting point is to be 50-50. Accordingly, the court would first determine how much of the 401(k) was earned "during the marriage" and after that determine whether that portion should be equally divided or not. I would guess that you are not talking about a large amount.

The portion of a retirement account that was funded during the marriage is marital property subject to division. That is, if you put $1000 into the account during the marriage, the portion of the account that this represents at the time of the divorce will be subject to division. Funds that were in a retirement account prior to the marriage are generally not marital property. So if your balance is $10,000, but you only put in the $1000 in the year you have been married, only the portion you contributed during the marriage would be presumptively divided. In the event of a short marriage and a modest amount of 401k contributions, you may be in a position where the cost of dividing a pension just doesn't make sense.

Well, she is entitled to a portion of it. The vested contributions made by you and your company during the year you are (were) married are considered marital property. As such your soon-to-be-ex is entitled to a share, normally 50%. But if you are going to divide a 401(k), you need legal assistance. Please contact a family relations attorney near you. The above does not create a lawyer - client relationship, nor should it be considered legal advise. It is intended as entertainment only.