CDN divorced, don't know what to do with 401k

[moi]

I want to come home to Canada in 2012. I will have rec'd 15,000.00 in alimony for that year, when I cross. I have roughly 175,000.00 in a 401k as part of the divorce settlement, I don't work. Should I leave it, cash it out, or some of it. My thought is, I should buy a house. I have no other money, and I've been a stay at home MOM.
The 401K was thru a QDRO, are the penalties the same when withdrawing? The divorce was finalized Aug09. Do I have a certain amount of time that I can move/roll the money with no 10% penalty.
I feel like a deer caught in the head lights.
Thank you.

[ExpatAmerican]

Using a 401k to fund a home purchase is usually quite expensive (penalties and taxes payable). Rolling the 401k in to an IRA and using the first-time homebuyer exlusion, might make sense. You would avoid the 10% penalty, but still be liable for any tax. You may still want to consider moving your 401k to an IRA in any case if you decide to move to Canada to make it easier to deal with your plan administrator. Your custodian should be FINRA-licensed (US securities regulators) and IIROC-licensed in your province to keep from running afoul of various securities regulations. You can contact Darrell Thompson at Macquarie Private Wealth Corp in Toronto. He is licensed in most North American jurisdictions. He can most likely answer your questions and can be emailed at darrell.thompson@macquarie.com.

[nelsona]

And on the question of rolling over: The existence of the QDRO allows your former spouse to roll the agreed portion of IRA/401(k) to you without tax or penalty.

You as the recipient, do not get any such relief, if you take the money out of the resulting IRA/401(k) that is in your name.