Inside Hunter Biden's Move Abroad Amid Mounting Legal and Financial Troubles

A recent court filing revealed Hunter Biden is living overseas, just a year after his father's presidential term ended in 2025.

The artist's new attorney, Barry Coburn, disclosed in a 14-page court filing on April 6 that "Mr. Biden lives abroad." The court document was submitted in connection with a civil lawsuit over $50,000 in unpaid legal fees.

"He cannot pay his current lawyers," Barry added. "Our client is impecunious. We have not engaged a billing consultant or forensic accountant to review the bills, just as we have not engaged an e-discovery vendor. We cannot afford it."

In papers submitted by Winston & Strawn LLP in a Washington D.C., civil court, the former first son had failed to pay a "substantial portion" of the fees owed to his attorneys. It further asserted that Hunter lacked the financial means to hire specialists to assist with the case, noting he manually searched his own emails to find relevant documents instead of relying on external resources.

Winston & Strawn LLP previously represented Hunter in a series of criminal cases, including a felony gun trial in Delaware in 2024.

The reported relocation followed Joe Biden's departure from the White House at the conclusion of his presidency in January 2025.

During an appearance in a November 2025 episode of the "Wide Awake Podcast," Hunter stated he failed to pay his fees and was $17 million in debt. He also discussed his mounting legal and financial struggles on The Shawn Ryan Show, noting "nobody's riding to the rescue" for him.

"My dad, you know, entered the presidency as the poorest man to ever take the office. And he left the presidency [as] the, you know, not poorest, I mean, he's fine, but he has no, we have no generational wealth," said Hunter. "I don't have any, you know, despite what these guys say, like there's no billions of dollars buried underneath my dad's house."

Hunter and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, had been living in California following their 2019 wedding. But during the November 2025 podcast interview, the youngest and only surviving son of Joe shared he was splitting time between the U.S. and Cape Town, South Africa. Melissa hails from Johannesburg.

"When all the all of the political and personal stuff came to an end in the last six months, I had always promised that we would spend some time over here," Hunter said. "I've fallen madly in love with Cape Town. You guys do not know how good you have it here. It's the most beautiful city in the world."

According to Hunter, they "can't go back anyway" to California as most of the homes around the house he rented in the area were burned down in the 2024 Palisades Fire.

Before the news of his relocation broke, former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler alleged Hunter had a planned three-month trip to South Africa starting in March and was using the Los Angeles wildfire as an "excuse." Additionally, the vacation was reportedly the reason "why he is attempting to avoid his deposition" in a lawsuit involving his infamous laptop.

The New York Post reported that Hunter's home appeared unaffected by the wildfires.

Questions about Hunter's actual whereabouts arose after a report alleged he was not residing in South Africa and was instead hiding out at a sprawling California estate.

"He's been telling everyone that he is living in South Africa because he has no money, but it's a ruse, to show that he is broke and can't pay his bills," a source close to the Biden family said in April, per The New York Post.

That same month, Hunter was pictured with his family celebrating Easter in Santa Ynez, Calif.

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing. My heart under one roof in Santa Ynez, CA for Easter 2026. 🐣🐰," Ashley Biden captioned the post.