Marriage of Alexander and Colacito CA3, C099322

Mirabella Alexander and Benjamin Colacito divorced in 2018, sharing two minor children. Mirabella had sole custody after the children lived with grandparents under a guardianship until 2020.
In 2018, Mirabella secured a five-year domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) against Benjamin, based on abuse allegations.
In 2022, Mirabella requested a court order allowing her to move to Puerto Rico with the children. She also sought a permanent renewal of the DVRO as it neared expiration.
The trial court denied both her move-away request and DVRO renewal, gradually increased Benjamin’s visitation, and maintained Mirabella’s sole custody (pending a later hearing on joint custody).
Mirabella, representing herself, appealed four separate orders: denial of move-away, denial of her DVRO renewal, denial of reconsideration, and an interim custody/visitation order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Move-away request (to PR)	Relocation better for children, job opportunity, and emotional support for Mirabella; court misapplied the law	Would harm children’s stability, sever key relationships, no adequate support in PR	Denied; court weighed all relevant factors and found move harmful to children
DVRO renewal	Ongoing fear, pattern of abuse, and threats by Benjamin warranted renewal	No ongoing abuse, parties often interacted voluntarily, DVRO used for leverage	Denied; court found no reasonable apprehension of future abuse
Reconsideration motion	New evidence (mental health status); prior court findings were flawed	Plaintiff failed to raise evidence at trial; no material change	Denied; no new facts or satisfactory explanation for delay
Interim custody order appeal	Increases in visitation unwarranted, safety concerns	Order reasonably increases time, maintains primary custody for Mirabella	Dismissed; order was temporary and not appealable

In re Marriage of LaMusga, 32 Cal.4th 1072 (Cal. 2004) (sets key factors for deciding parental move-away requests)
In re Marriage of Burgess, 13 Cal.4th 25 (Cal. 1996) (non-moving parent must show move is detrimental to child)
Ritchie v. Konrad, 115 Cal.App.4th 1275 (appellate review of DVRO renewal, reasonable apprehension of future abuse)
Nwosu v. Uba, 122 Cal.App.4th 1229 (self-represented parties held to same standards as attorneys)
Banning v. Newdow, 119 Cal.App.4th 438 (temporary/interim custody orders are not appealable)