LOVE V LAW: The £44 Billion Family Court Crisis Affecting Millions of Families

A Powerful New Documentary

Watch the trailer & support the campaign: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/love-v-law

LONDON, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 

A new feature documentary, LOVE V LAW, investigates the UK's silent family court system — one shielded from scrutiny, cloaked in secrecy, and increasingly blamed for the suffering of millions of children, parents, and relatives. With links to thousands of suicides annually and costing the public £44 billion per year, the film asks: could this be the biggest scandal the world has never seen?

Directed by filmmaker Stephen Carpenter, LOVE V LAW is the result of years of research and interviews with lawyers, survivors — and even a family court judge.

"At first, I thought it was just me. Then I found support groups filled with tens of thousands of victims — fathers, mothers, grandparents, and grown children. The common thread? An industry that seems to thrive on secrecy and misinformation. It punishes love and rewards conflict. Thousands of people we've heard from say this is bigger than the Post Office scandal — and I'm starting to agree."

The film is presented by Nawal Houghton, a qualified solicitor and divorce coach who has worked with families on both sides of high-conflict cases:

"I have seen first-hand the emotional devastation, systemic failures, and silencing of victims this film highlights. I want to help expose the truth, challenge a system that too often protects abusers, and advocate for a future where families, especially children, are safeguarded, not exploited." — Nawal Houghton, Solicitor and Divorce Coach

LOVE V LAW will feature unseen evidence, expert interviews, and stories from parents, grandparents, adult children, and professionals. While focused on the UK, it highlights global patterns that legal experts say require urgent reform.

Families describe losing contact with their children not due to harm or risk, but because of false allegations, delay tactics, and a court system that too often rewards conflict over care. Carpenter adds:

"After years of hearings, dismissed complaints, and seeing the same failures again and again, I couldn't stay silent. The conflict begins in the courts — and continues on social media — we need to come together and speak up if we want change to happen. This isn't about mums versus dads, it's about protecting children from a system that, intentionally or not, causes conflict and preys on their innocence."

The film explores how family breakdown has become a multi-billion-pound industry. Critics argue that false allegations, prolonged litigation, and emotional trauma are not only overlooked — but appear actively incentivised. MPs and legal professionals have publicly stated the system is broken, even advising parents to avoid it entirely.

LOVE V LAW includes cases like Archie Spriggs and Sara Sharif, where ignored warning signs ended in tragedy. It also confronts parental alienation, a science-backed but often denied form of emotional abuse, where the sudden loss of a loving parent can cause permanent neurological changes to a child's developing brain— a trauma some believe should be treated as seriously as physical abuse.

Studies state that over 200 children per day in the UK lose meaningful contact with a parent due to family court outcomes while lawyers alone reportedly earn £1.4 billion a year. Yet despite this scale, judicial immunity, secrecy, and financial interest still dominate.

Across thousands of testimonies, a recurring theme emerges: institutions claiming to protect children are instead perceived as prioritising income and reputation over safety and truth.

Now in late-stage production, LOVE V LAW is raising funds to complete filming, post-production and outreach. Carpenter concludes:

"Since the soft launch, we've been overwhelmed by the response. Thousands of mothers, fathers, and now-grown children are speaking up. We want to hear from people inside the system too — lawyers, judges, social workers, regulators, be part of the change, or remain part of the problem. Eight million people want answers now!" 

In its closing argument, LOVE V LAW lays bare what campaigners are calling a structurally broken system — shaped by opaque public-private ties, systemic bias, and legal narratives that fuel gender division, normalise conflict, and commodify love for litigation.

LOVE V LAW includes first-hand accounts, expert interviews, and information drawn from public reports. All allegations referenced in the film are presented in the context of public interest reporting. Right of reply is open to all stakeholders featured or discussed.

Watch the trailer & support the campaign: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/love-v-law

For interviews, podcast appearances, or press materials: contact@lovevlaw.com #lovevlaw

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