Unless you're the kids' grandparents and it's your home going on the auction block, say Henry and Gertrude Chun.
The ramshackle house the elder Chuns bought in 1988 at 46-070 Makena Place in Kaneohe goes out to bid in a foreclosure sale at noon today at the Circuit Court building in Honolulu.
"I don't think he paid the child support," said Henry Chun, referring to his son Darrell.
"But what does that have to do with us? He's 43 years old."
Henry Chun said his son, a carpenter, was disabled in an accident and couldn't afford the monthly payments.
In 1986, son Darrell, who now owes his three children $79,000 in unpaid child support, lost a judgment in Family Court. Last October, Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall transferred the deed to the Makena Place house from Henry and Gertrude to Darrell Chun. Today, bidding on the house was to start at $85,000.
"How would you feel if they stole your land away from you?" asked Henry Chun. "It's our retirement home."
Not so, said Deputy Attorney General Hal Schofield, who handled the state's case against the Chuns.
Schofield contends that the elder Chuns never intended to live in the Kaneohe house, which was a gift to their son. "His parents put all of his assets in their names," Schofield said.
Those arguments prompted the judge to seize the house to pay Darrell Chun's debts.
The state used a procedure known as a creditor's bill to switch ownership after they determined the house actually belonged to the son, Schofield said.
"I think the sympathies are tugging in the wrong way," he said. "This has turned from a child support story to an eviction story. . . . As far as we're concerned, it's a routine case, with the exception of the creditor's bill. . . . We're trying to enforce the child support laws."
The Chuns bought the Makena Place home for $200,000 while they were living in the Waco, Texas, compound of Branch Davidian Leader David Koresh.
They became disillusioned with Koresh after a year and a half and left the compound in 1990, three years before the fiery federal raid that ended in the death of Koresh and nearly 80 cult members.
Henry Chun said he and his wife moved into the Makena Place house, where Darrell was living, when they returned from the mainland and stayed about a year.
The couple then moved in with another relative in Waimanalo, returning to the Makena Place house last year. That's where they were yesterday, standing their ground.
"We've got a lot of things up our sleeves," said Gertrude Chun, but wouldn't tip her hand.
The Chuns, who have aligned themselves with the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, ran a newspaper ad Sunday stating they have placed a "common law lien" on the property and warning off potential buyers. The Chuns shunned court appearances during the four-year legal wrangle, opting instead to send in "papers" on the case.
Schofield said any proceeds from the sale above $85,000 for child support and legal fees, will go to Darrell Chun. The Chuns said they planned to attend today's auction.