What This Statute Says
Divorce decrees contain three different kinds of awards. Maintenance and support are ongoing payment streams. Property division is usually a one-time allocation. The law treats these very differently when one party wants to change the decree later.
The provisions of any decree respecting maintenance or support may be modified or terminated only on a showing of changed circumstances that are substantial and continuing except as to any amount that may have accrued as an arrearage before the date of notice of the motion or order to show cause to modify or terminate.
A.R.S. § 25-327(A)Substantial and continuing means a real, lasting change. Losing a job temporarily does not usually qualify. A long-term disability typically does. Past-due arrears cannot be reduced or wiped out; only future amounts can be modified.
When This Statute Comes Into Play
Subsection B is critical for estate planning:
Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance.
A.R.S. § 25-327(B)This is the default rule. Spousal maintenance stops automatically when either spouse dies. It also stops when the receiving spouse remarries. The decree can override this by saying maintenance continues after death, but absent that language, the obligation ends.
This matters when the paying ex-spouse wants protection for the receiving ex-spouse beyond death. Without specific decree language, life insurance, or a written maintenance trust, payments simply stop.
Property Awards Are Different
Subsection D states the property disposition provisions of a decree cannot be revoked or modified by the court, except as the parties may have agreed. The exception is for fraud or mistake. A spouse who later discovers that an asset was hidden during the divorce may have grounds to reopen the property division.
What This Means for Arizona Families
Divorce often interacts with an estate plan in invisible ways. Spousal maintenance is a major one. Many divorced clients assume their ex-spouse will continue to receive payments after their death. The default rule under this statute says otherwise: maintenance terminates automatically on the death of either party.
If you want maintenance to continue after your death, your divorce decree must say so explicitly, or you must back the obligation with life insurance or a similar instrument. Otherwise, the receiving ex-spouse loses the income stream the moment you die.
The flip side matters too. If you are the receiving ex-spouse, ask whether the decree includes language extending maintenance past your former spouse's death. If not, build that gap into your own retirement planning. Our FAQ on retirement planning after divorce covers related issues. Property awards are far harder to undo than support orders. Once a community property division is final, it stays final absent fraud or mistake. This finality means rushing through a property division during emotional negotiations can lock in consequences that last for decades.