The courts that handle Arima matters
For Arima and the surrounding east, the routing is:
- Arima Magistrates' Court — summary criminal matters, minor civil claims, traffic, and preliminary inquiries. The first stop for most local matters.
- High Court at Port of Spain — significant civil claims, contested probate, judicial review, and serious commercial disputes. The Hall of Justice in Port of Spain is the venue.
- Family Court at Port of Spain — divorce, custody, access, maintenance, and matrimonial-property applications under the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act, Chapter 45:51 and the Children Act 2012.
- Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago — workplace disputes and matters under the Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 88:01.
- Probate Registry — applications for grant of probate or letters of administration filed through the Supreme Court of Judicature.
Matters that come up disproportionately in Arima
Residential conveyancing on a growing eastern market
The corridor running east from Arima — D'Abadie, Wallerfield, Cleaver Heights, and the surrounding developments — has been one of the country's most active residential markets for the past two decades. New-build purchases, mortgage transactions, and re-sales generate steady conveyancing work. Older eastern land titles can carry intestate-succession complications where land has passed through generations without formal transfer.
Personal-injury and road-traffic claims
The Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and the Eastern Main Road are the two main arteries serving Arima, and both produce a steady volume of road-traffic injury claims. Common instructions include claims against insurers under the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Act, claims for loss of earnings, and claims involving long-running medical recovery. Limitation periods apply, so early advice on whether a matter is viable is more useful than waiting.
Family law — divorce, custody, maintenance
Population growth and a large family-formation cohort produce a steady volume of family-law instructions: contested and uncontested divorce, custody and access arrangements, maintenance applications, and matrimonial-property division. Most divorce filings for Arima residents are heard at the Family Court in Port of Spain.
Employment matters
Retail, manufacturing, and service-sector employment in the eastern corridor generates frequent instructions on wrongful dismissal, retrenchment under the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act, Chapter 88:13, severance calculations, and dispute resolution under the Industrial Relations Act.
Practical access — how Arima clients work with the firm
The firm's primary office is at 43 Dundonald Street, Port of Spain — approximately 40 minutes from Arima via the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway under normal traffic (longer at peak). Most Arima clients never need to make that trip:
- First consultation — by phone, Zoom, WhatsApp video, or Google Meet. Documents are exchanged by email or secure transfer.
- Court appearances — the firm's attorneys appear at the Arima Magistrates' Court (and elsewhere) on the client's behalf.
- Document signing — most documents can be signed remotely; where notarisation is required, the firm coordinates the most efficient option.
- In-person meetings — available at the Port of Spain office for clients who prefer face-to-face contact.
Why instruct Martin George & Company
The firm has advised clients across Trinidad and Tobago since 1992. Martin George, the firm's Senior Partner and Lead Counsel, has more than 30 years of practice in the courts of Trinidad and Tobago, has served as a Commissioner on the Law Reform Commission, and sat on the Prime Minister's Constitutional Committee for Internal Self-Government for Tobago. The firm is a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms and is a Lawzana-verified practice. Practice areas span family, property, civil and commercial litigation, employment, personal injury, wills and probate, immigration, and public law — meaning an Arima matter that crosses several areas can be handled inside one firm rather than passed between counsel.
Frequently asked questions
Will my matter be heard in Arima or Port of Spain?
Summary criminal matters and small civil claims go to the Arima Magistrates' Court. Significant civil claims, family-law matters, and contested probate go to the High Court or Family Court in Port of Spain. The firm confirms the right venue at the first consultation.
I was injured in a road traffic accident on the CRH — what should I do first?
Get medical attention and keep all records. Then seek legal advice promptly: limitation periods apply to personal-injury claims, and early evidence-gathering (police report, witness contact, photographs) often shapes the outcome of the claim more than later medical developments.
I'm buying a new-build home in D'Abadie or Wallerfield — what should I check?
Begin with a title search on the underlying parcel and a review of the developer's terms before any deposit is paid. New-build purchases carry their own pitfalls — staged-payment arrangements, completion-date risk, and undertakings from the developer. Acting before money changes hands is significantly cheaper than acting afterwards.
How do I book a consultation?
Call +1 (868) 624-4529, message the firm on WhatsApp at (868) 780-2804, or book online at martingeorge.net/book-consultation.