184 DIVorCe wItH DeCenCY
situation. In Terri’s case, had I known the full story up front, I might
have been able to settle the case with some sort of joint custody com-
promise arrangement—rather than taking it to trial and pushing for
full custody.
Judges will routinely order drug tests of either/both spouse(s) if
so requested in the context of a contested custody case. If either side
tests positive for drugs, he/she will likely lose custody.
By the time we hit trial, things had gone too far for a joint custody
settlement to still be viable. Terri had insisted on going to a full trial to
get full custody. Somebody got full custody all right, her husband.
— Contributed by attorney Sheila S. H. Sue-Noguchi, former associate,
Coates & FreyA Care Home Gets Carelessly Conveyed
Mila and Reuben married in 1974. They had met in the Philip-
pines a few years earlier, and after Reuben immigrated to Hawai‘i
and obtained United States citizenship, he sent for Mila. Shortly
after Mila arrived, the parties combined their limited savings and
purchased a small home.
For the next six years, Mila worked as a private-duty nurse, and
Reuben began his own business as a building contractor and real-
estate investor. Mila dreamed of opening and managing a care
home.
Between 1974 and 1980, the value of Mila and Reuben’s home
appreciated considerably. In 1980 they decided to sell their home
to fulfill Mila’s dream and bought a vacant lot for the purpose of
building a care home on it. Using their combined income, they
applied for a construction mortgage, and Reuben constructed an
eight-bedroom home on the property. Meanwhile, he and Mila
lived in a rented house nearby.
Unfortunately, shortly after the care home was completed, Reu-
ben began to run into some fairly serious legal difficulties. Vari-
ous persons with whom he had been doing business had either
commenced litigation or were threatening to do so. In fact, as
part of one of his deals, Mila had at Reuben’s request cosigned a
promissory note to a mortgage company.