A GRANDSON could be left with an estimated £37,000 solicitors' bill because he has been deemed mentally incapable of fighting a court case over his grandmother's will.

Lee Gilliland, 42, is locked in a dispute with his mother June over the will and estate left by his 97-year-old grandmother Doris Clark when she died in November 2008.

He is hoping to win the right to keep his grandmother's £100,000 terraced house in St George where he has lived for most of his life.

But his legal battle is now in tatters because his GP has ruled that he is lacking the mental capacity to pursue the probate case against his mother.

As a result, the State's official solicitor has taken over his case and Mr Gilliland claims decisions are now being made without his knowledge or consent.

He understands a decision has been made to settle the dispute by splitting the proceeds of the sale of the house.

Mr Gilliland says this outcome would leave him homeless and with only £13,000 to his name once the predicted £37,000 in legal fees were deducted.

Former parachute instructor Mr Gilliland, who lives in Hillside Road, denies he is unfit to fight his case and wants the GP's decision overturned so he can be free to appoint his own solicitor at a more affordable cost and take control of decisions about his case.

Although he has several disabilities and health problems, including post traumatic stress disorder and agoraphobia, he believes he is capable of disputing the will without State intervention.

Unemployed Mr Gilliland has won the support of John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group of Family Law and the Court of Protection. The politician believes his case highlights the unfairness of the law whereby a person can be deemed to lack mental capacity on the say-so of a single "expert" and then lose all rights to make decisions about their finances or personal welfare.

He said: "Mr Gilliland clearly understands the case. It doesn't need an expert to demonstrate that he does."

Mr Gilliland said his GP was asked to assess his mental capacity by the solicitor he initially appointed to fight his case at the end of 2008. He says he has been denied access to the GP's study because it may cause him "substantial distress".

Mr Gilliland, said: "I can't believe this is happening in somewhere we call Great Britain.

"If it's not a joke it's absolutely insulting and it's unbelievable they think they can get away with it.

"I'm just dumbfounded, especially as it's been done behind my back."

A spokesman for NHS Bristol declined to comment on the case. The solicitor involved in the case was unavailable for comment.