Probate court filing statistics are usually local court statistics, not a single national series. The official sources reviewed for this article report different pieces of the workflow. Washington reports statewide probate cases filed, resolved, pending, and the age of unresolved cases. Texas reports the mix of probate filings in its statutory county courts, but says probate dispositions are not collected in that series.
probate court filing statistics
The table keeps the measures separate. A filing is an addition to the docket. A resolution is an outcome recorded by the reporting court. Pending cases are the open inventory at the reporting point. A processing benchmark is a stated time standard or the share of cases meeting one. None of these figures is an average for all U.S. probate courts.
| Measure | Jurisdiction and period | Reported figure | Denominator or scope | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases filed | Washington Superior Courts, calendar year 2025 | 18,192 | Probate cases only; statewide total | New probate cases reported by the superior courts. Guardianship and mental illness cases are excluded. |
| Cases resolved | Washington Superior Courts, calendar year 2025 | 15,442 | Probate cases only; statewide total | Cases resolved in the reporting period. This is not the same as a filing count or a clearance rate. |
| Active cases pending | Washington Superior Courts, 2025 annual report | 26,706 | Probate cases only; statewide total | Open active inventory reported at the end of the reporting period. |
| Pending cases over 36 months | Washington Superior Courts, 2025 annual report | 14,058 | Cases pending; statewide total | Pending cases that exceeded 36 months under the report's time-in-process measure. |
| Resolved within 8 months | Washington Superior Courts, 2025 annual report | 85.48% | Resolved probate cases; statewide | Share meeting the first Washington time standard. |
| Resolved within 18 months | Washington Superior Courts, 2025 annual report | 91.59% | Resolved probate cases; statewide | Share meeting the second Washington time standard. |
| Resolved within 36 months | Washington Superior Courts, 2025 annual report | 96.25% | Resolved probate cases; statewide | Share meeting the third Washington time standard. |
| Independent administration filings | Texas statutory county courts, fiscal year 2024 | 67% | Probate filings by case type in the report | Filing mix, not a share of all court filings and not a disposition rate. |
| Other estate filings | Texas statutory county courts, fiscal year 2024 | 22% | Probate filings by case type in the report | Filing mix, not a backlog measure. |
Washington State Courts, *Probate Case Management Statistics: 2025 Annual Report*, current report page, accessed August 2, 2026, reports 18,192 cases filed, 15,442 resolved, 26,706 active pending cases, 14,058 pending over 36 months, and the three statewide time percentages. The page states that the table includes only probate cases, not guardianship or mental illness cases, and that the time-in-process figures exclude suspended cases. The Washington Board for Judicial Administration standards recommend 90% within 8 months, 98% within 18 months, and 100% within 36 months. See the Washington State Courts caseload report, accessed August 2, 2026.
Texas Judicial Branch, *Annual Statistical Report for the Texas Judiciary, FY 2024*, publication date not stated on the PDF, accessed August 2, 2026, reports the probate filing mix for statutory county courts as 67% independent administration, 22% other estate, 6% all other probate, and 4% dependent administration. The same report marks probate and guardianship dispositions as not collected. See the Texas FY 2024 annual statistical report, accessed August 2, 2026.
How to read filing volume
Washington's 18,192 filings describe additions during 2025. They do not describe the number of estates completed in that year. The 15,442 resolved cases are a separate count, and the report does not say that every resolved case came from the same year's filings. Comparing the two as if they were a same-cohort completion rate would use mismatched denominators.
Texas provides a different kind of benchmark. Its 67% figure describes the composition of probate filings by case type. It does not show that 67% of estates were completed independently, and it cannot be used to calculate a clearance rate because the report says probate dispositions are not collected. That limitation is part of the statistic, not a reason to fill the gap with an estimate.
No comparable national probate filing dataset was identified in the official court sources reviewed for this article. Federal court caseload reports are not a national series for state probate administration. A national average would combine jurisdictions with different court structures, case definitions, reporting periods, and filing practices.
Backlog and processing windows are different measures
Washington's 26,706 active pending cases are an inventory measure. The 14,058 cases pending over 36 months are an age-band measure within that inventory. Neither number is a count of filings during 2025, and neither one gives a median time to completion.
The time-standard percentages answer a narrower question: what share of the report's probate cases met the 8, 18, or 36 month milestone? The published standards are targets, not a promise that a particular estate will be resolved within one of those periods. The report also says suspended cases are excluded from its time-in-process figures, so those percentages should not be described as the elapsed time for every open probate matter.
For comparison, the Texas report cannot supply a processing window from its probate series. It reports filing categories and states that probate dispositions are not collected. A researcher should record that as an evidence limit rather than borrow a civil-court clearance rate or a different state's probate standard.
A practical court workflow benchmark
For an estate file, record four fields separately: filing date, court-recorded resolution date if available, current pending status, and any stated processing standard. Also record the court, reporting period, case definition, and whether the source includes electronic filings only. The Washington report does not identify its figures as electronic-filing-only data. The Texas annual report likewise does not present these probate percentages as an electronic-filing-only series.
When a team is checking whether a file is ready for the next step, the probate file readiness research workflow can help organize missing pleadings, orders, inventories, and status questions. For the relationship between court posting and record research time, see estate record research time statistics. If the matter requires broader public-record work, investigative research services can support evidence gathering while legal judgment remains with the responsible professional.
Methodology and limitations
This review uses first-party court material available by August 2, 2026. It reports Washington's statewide 2025 probate case-management table and Texas's FY 2024 statutory county court filing mix. The sources are not treated as one combined dataset. Filings, resolutions, pending inventory, case age, time-standard percentages, and filing composition remain separate. No national average is stated because no comparable national probate dataset was identified.
The Washington figures cover superior-court probate cases and exclude guardianship and mental illness cases. The Texas filing mix covers statutory county courts and does not include collected probate dispositions. Neither source is identified as electronic filings only. Local rules, reporting definitions, and court systems can change, so confirm the current court report before using a figure for operational planning or a client matter.
Questions this data can answer
Does Washington's resolved count equal its annual completion rate?
No. The 15,442 resolved cases and 18,192 filed cases are separate annual counts. The source does not establish that the resolved cases were drawn only from the year's filings.
Does Texas report probate case dispositions?
Not in the cited statutory county court series. The FY 2024 report says probate and guardianship case dispositions are not collected there.
Is 14,058 a count of Washington cases filed more than three years ago?
No. It is the report's count of cases pending resolution over 36 months. The report says its time-in-process figures exclude suspended cases.
Is there a national average processing time for probate?
Not in the comparable official sources reviewed here. Washington publishes a state-specific age and time-standard report, while Texas publishes filing composition without probate dispositions. Those measures cannot support a national average.
**Professional disclaimer:** This article is general research, not legal, tax, accounting, fiduciary, financial, or court-process advice. Court data definitions and procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the relevant court and consult a qualified professional before relying on a statistic or taking action.
Sources
- Washington State Courts, *Probate Case Management Statistics: 2025 Annual Report*, current caseload report, accessed August 2, 2026: https://www.courts.wa.gov/caseload/?fa=caseload.showReport&fileID=probcm&freq=a&level=s&tab=trend
- Texas Judicial Branch, *Annual Statistical Report for the Texas Judiciary, FY 2024*, publication date not stated on the PDF, accessed August 2, 2026: https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461502/ar-statistical-fy24.pdf