Smiley

This is an appeal by the husband from an order of the superior court denying his motion to modify the provisions of a previous order of the court, entered on September 20, 1970, which order had incorporated and ordered the parties to comply with the executory provisions of a property settlement agreement theretofore executed by the parties.

*230 I

The order herein appealed from was couched in the following terms:

The applicable provisions of that property settlement agreement are as follows:

Prior to 1967, the case law of this state had developed complicated distinctions, whereby the modifiability and enforcement of the provisions of a property settlement agreement turned on the language of the agreement and of the decree. If the agreement did not refer to any court action and it was not tendered to the court for judicial action, the agreement was, like any other contract, non-modifiable except by a suit in equity for reformation and was enforceable only by a plenary suit at law for breach of contract. If the agreement did refer to judicial action and, by its terms, was not effective without such action, the agreement was treated as a mere stipulation, and the…