Hunter Biden's first criminal trial begins Monday, but he quietly has been in and out of courtrooms since 2019 in a messy, multimillion-dollar civil case involving unpaid alimony to his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, according to court documents.

Why it matters: Buhle is likely to testify about Hunter's drug use and finances in both of his upcoming trials over gun and tax charges, which will unfold in the final months of his father's campaign for re-election.

• The trials — the gun case that starts Monday in Delaware and the tax case set for Sept. 5 in California — are likely to include embarrassing revelations about the Biden family that almost certainly will be touted by Republicans in light of Donald Trump's felony conviction.
• Hunter's myriad legal problems — including the divorce case with Buhle — have led his allies to reconsider starting a legal fund for him, despite concerns by Biden aides about the political optics of it.