Use term reference field in node--custom.tpl.php
If taxonomy_term_load() return false then 


the supplied argument (tid) is either non-numeric
Or there is no term with this id.


To check if there is any term against this id try

`taxonomy_term_load_multiple(array($tid), array());`


If taxonomy_term_load_multiple() returns empty array then it is clear there is no term with this $tid.