That portion of a man’s property which he Is free to dispose of by will to beneficiaries other than his wife and children. By the ancient common law, this amounted to one third of his estate if he was survived by both wife and children. 2 Bl. Comm. 492; Hopkins v. Wright, 17 Tex. 36. In the civil law (by the Lex Falcidia) it amounted to three fourths. Mackeld. Rom. Law,