Three Strikes, You're Out? Brooke Mueller Loses Third Bid To Take Kids Away From Denise Richards

Lawyers for Brooke Mueller secretly went back in front of a Los Angeles judge for a third time last Friday in a desperate attempt to have Mueller's brother installed as temporary guardian of Max and Bob, her twin sons with ex-husband Charlie Sheen, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.

But the judge in the child dependency court refused to make any changes to the current living situation of the 4-year-olds, under the roof of Sheen's second

ex-wife, Denise Richards.

"Brooke again failed to provide any concrete evidence as to why the judge should strip Denise of temporary guardianship of the boys," a source with knowledge of the situation told Radar. "The twins are thriving in Denise's care. Brooke's brother, Scott, lives in Orange County -- and any move in the children's living situation would cause significant upheaval. They'd have to be uprooted from their preschool and their sisters."

Mueller recently checked into the Betty Ford Center for a 30-day treatment stint, making it her 20th time she's entered a treatment facility to seek help for substance abuse.

As RadarOnline.com first revealed, Mueller and Sheen's twins were taken away from her because of fears their mother's drug use could endanger them. Richards was given temporary custody of the boys with Sheen's blessing.

"Brooke just doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation involving custody of the boys," one source told us. "She is used to just snapping her

fingers and having her lawyers work their magic, in an attempt to make the problem go away."

And there's a whole lot more at stake in this custody battle, too: One insider noted that the boys are their troubled mother's "only source of income.

"Brooke is only concerned with making sure that Charlie continues to pay her child support of $55,000 each month," the insider said.

While born into a family of fame and fortune, the boys have been through quite a bit in their four years: Don't forget, it was RadarOnline.com on the scene two years ago, when Brooke had authorities remove the boys from Charlie's care, citing similar concerns.

Just a few months later, Brooke's battle with addiction was closely chronicled on Paris Hilton's short-lived reality show, The World According to Paris.