Does naming a beneficiary on my RRSP or life insurance let those assets skip Ontario probate?

Generally, yes. Assets with a valid, named beneficiary — RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, life insurance policies, and many pensions — typically pass directly to that named person outside your estate, rather than through your will, which means they're also outside the value your estate certificate is based on and don't add to Ontario's Estate Administration Tax.

This depends on the designation actually being in place and valid at the time of death, made either in the plan or policy documents themselves, or in some cases in your will, depending on the product and how Ontario law treats that particular type of designation. If you instead name your estate as the beneficiary, or leave no valid designation at all, those same assets fall back into the estate and become part of the probate calculation after all.

It's also worth checking these designations periodically rather than assuming they're still current — they don't automatically update after a separation, divorce, or new marriage, and an out-of-date beneficiary designation can send an asset to an unintended person entirely, separate from any probate savings. Confirming your designations directly with each plan or insurance provider, alongside your broader estate plan, is the reliable way to make sure they do what you intend.