ABOUT CHARLIE SHEEN'S CUSTODY ISSUES

HAMMER: Yes. Well, what baffles me and a lot of other people is why Charlie Sheen would make a dramatic and sudden decision to give up custody of his kids. Right now, in New York, Vikki Ziegler, who is a family attorney. All right, Vikki. So Charlie and Denise were in this ugly divorce battle that really hasn`t stopped since their divorce back in 2006. So now, you have Charlie handing over full legal custody to Denise and there`s no fight here. Why do you think he`s doing this now? Do you think that Charlie`s really shocking decision has a lot to do with all of his current legal trouble? VIKKI ZIEGLER, FAMILY ATTORNEY: Yes, I do. This is shocking news to me as a practitioner, a divorce attorney. We never suggest that people give up their custodial rights. So I think what`s happening now, he probably doesn`t have the emotional legs to fight a custody battle if one were to ensue. And I think probably the criminal matter that`s pending in Aspen with his current wife, Brook Mueller, are too difficult for him to face. And I think he thinks, perhaps, that he doesn`t want all of his additional dirty laundry to be aired in a potential custody battle. But this is a shocking revelation. When we saw the disgusting allegations that they made against each other, Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen back in `06 and `07 when he fought so strenuously for joint custody, and now to give it up. HAMMER: Yes. And the back and forth. Yes. I mean, that was about as intense as I have ever seen it in all the years I`ve been covering this stuff. And we know that Charlie has had a lot of personal setbacks. He entered a rehab facility back in February. Here`s another thing. I was thinking, Vikki, even if Charlie wanted to fight for custody of his two girls, is it possible his recent stint in rehab could be a potential major roadblock that he just didn`t want to try to fight? ZIEGLER: Certainly. I think the argument is always going to be that he`s not fit. He can`t care for these children and they would be in harm`s way if, in fact, he is caring for them on a consistent basis. Perhaps falling off the wagon, so to speak, doing drugs and alcohol in the presence of your children or at least maybe the next day is never a good sign. So he probably would have an uphill battle. But to give up your custodial rights voluntarily is almost unheard of. HAMMER: Yes. And then there`s the idea in the news today that Denise Richards could be called to testify at Charlie`s upcoming trial because he allegedly attacked his current wife. Maybe he`s trying to smooth things over with his ex-wife just in case she does appear. ZIEGLER: Right. Listen, there`s a lot of evidence that could be used against him. And perhaps, there was that agreement. HAMMER: Yes. ZIEGLER: You give up custody and let me take all of the decision- making power and I won`t hurt you in court. HAMMER: We don`t know if that happened. But certainly who knows with these two. ZIEGLER: Yes. HAMMER: Anything is possible. Vikki Ziegler, thank you so much. By the way, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did reach out to Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. As of show time, we have not heard back.