Hunter Biden is back in the headlines—again—not for art sales or cable-news spin, but for a reopened paternity dispute that paints a deeply unflattering picture of the former first son. In January 2026, attorneys for Lunden Roberts officially moved to revive the 2019 Arkansas paternity case, accusing Biden of failing to live up to a court-approved agreement and emotionally abandoning his daughter, Navy Joan Roberts.
According to the new court filing, Biden negotiated a reduction in his child support obligations in exchange for providing Navy with a “specified number of paintings” he created—art she was supposed to personally select. The reasoning was straightforward: Biden’s name, fame, and family connections had already inflated the market value of his artwork, and the paintings were meant to serve both as financial security and a way for father and daughter to bond over a shared love of art.
Roberts’ attorneys say that bond briefly appeared real. The filing recounts a moment when Biden showed up unannounced at a deposition, where Navy gave him artwork she had made specifically for him. The gesture reportedly moved Biden to tears and inspired the idea that art could be a bridge between them. For Roberts’ family, the arrangement brought hope—and even joy—because Navy had longed for a relationship with her father.
That hope, the motion claims, was short-lived.
The court documents describe a heartbreaking reality for the young girl, who allegedly once said she “could not wait to get to heaven” so she could be with her dad, because he doesn’t see or talk to her and is “really busy” and “lives far away.” While Biden initially appeared to be forming a connection, Roberts now says he abruptly cut off contact—“ghosting” his daughter entirely after she published a 2024 memoir about her relationship with him, a book that did not disparage him.
The implication from Roberts’ legal team is blunt: Biden’s renewed interest in Navy coincided neatly with his desire to reduce child support, and disappeared once that objective was achieved.
The filing also highlights painful moments that underscore Navy’s awareness of her father’s absence, including her becoming upset at a wedding upon realizing that her dad would not one day walk her down the aisle or dance with her at her own reception. Yet, despite all this, Navy is described as grateful for Biden’s affection toward her half-brother, Beau Biden Jr., and even defended her grandfather, former President Joe Biden, from bullies—an irony not lost on observers.
“Ms. Roberts has reached out to Mr. Biden numerous times” to allow Navy to speak with her father, the motion states, but Biden “in classic, classless form, refuses to respond.” While a few paintings were eventually provided, Navy was never allowed to choose them herself, as the agreement required.
Roberts’ attorneys are now asking the court to compel compliance—potentially jailing Biden for civil contempt until he follows court orders and communicates with his child. They also note that Biden’s other children enjoy a lifestyle “above that of the average American,” while Navy remains treated as an afterthought.
“No one can force Mr. Biden into being a good dad,” the filing concedes, “but this court can ensure [his daughter] receives the same level of support” as her siblings.
Hunter Biden initially denied paternity until a court-ordered test in 2019 proved otherwise. And while he was convicted in 2025 on a felony gun charge—only to be pardoned by his own father—this latest episode reinforces a familiar theme: one set of rules for the politically connected, and another for everyone else.
