Joe Biden's Son Hunter Is Ignoring a Baby He Fathered in Arkansas, Paternity Suit Claims

Hunter Biden, younger son of former Vice President Joe Biden, allegedly fathered a child last summer in Arkansas but has not acknowledged his paternity or provided child support, the child’s mother claims.

Hunter — whose tumultuous personal life has recently returned him to the headlines — faces a lawsuit from Lunden Roberts for paternity and child support in Independence County, Arkansas.

The allegations were first reported earlier this week; the court documents have subsequently been reviewed by PEOPLE.

Roberts’ suit states only that she and Hunter, 49, “were in a relationship” and had a child born in August in Independence County. She is petitioning the court to certify Hunter is the child’s father and order him to pay child support, including health care costs, as well as her attorney fees.

The suit was filed on May 28 and a summons for Hunter was issued immediately after. However, Roberts’ attorney told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette they have not yet been able to serve him.

The case has no pending hearings or further filings, according to an online docket. Hunter has 30 days to respond in writing.

Roberts “really values her privacy,” her attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the Democrat-Gazette. “This is a parenting and child support issue between her and Mr. Biden,” he said.

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“She really does not want this to be a media spectacle,” Lancaster said. “She does not want this to affect Joe Biden’s campaign. She just wants this baby to get financial support from the baby’s father.”

Lancaster’s office told PEOPLE he is not commenting further on the case. PEOPLE was unable to reach Hunter on Friday. He has not responded to recent requests for comment from the magazine.

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Earlier this month his father, who is the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination to challenge Donald Trump next year, confirmed Hunter had secretly married after splitting with his brother’s widow, Hallie Biden.

(Hunter’s new wife, Melissa Cohen, declined to comment to PEOPLE.)

In 2017 Hunter made headlines when his family confirmed he had split with wife Kathleen and was seeing Hallie, his former sister-in-law.

It was a surprising turn in a family saga marked by the highest levels of public service and the starkest tragedies, including brother Beau’s 2015 cancer death at age 46.

“Hallie and I are incredibly lucky to have found the love and support we have for each other in such a difficult time, and that’s been obvious to the people who love us most,” Hunter told Page Six then. “We’ve been so lucky to have family and friends who have supported us every step of the way.”

Earlier this year, Hunter gave a statement to Vanity Fair reflecting on his relationship with Kathleen and his divorce, in which Kathleen claimed he spent extravagantly on drugs and prostitutes, creating “financial concerns for the family,” according to divorce court documents previously obtained by PEOPLE.

The pair quickly finalized their split. Biden’s brother Jim told PEOPLE in 2017 that Hunter and Kathleen “had been estranged for quite some time,” and a friend said Beau’s decline and death compounded their problems.

Hunter told Vanity Fair, in part: “The important aspect of my complicated divorce (like all divorces) and an equally complicated life, marked by the tragic loss of my mother, sister and brother is this: My father has been a constant source of love and strength in my life.”

“Even though my life has been played out in the media, because I am a Biden, my father never once suggested that the family’s public profile should be my priority,” Hunter continued. “The priority has always been clear for my dad, as it is, now, for me: Never run from a struggle. Love people and find a way to love yourself. And remember that the two things are very much connected.”

A spokeswoman for the former vice president did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the paternity suit.