Upon the filing of the inventory, the court shall make an order setting apart for the widow or minor children of the deceased, if any, all the property of the estate by law exempt from execution. The property thus set apart, if there be a widow, is her property, to be used or expended by her in the maintenance of herself and minor children, if any; or if there be no widow, it is the property of the minor child or, if more than one, of the minor children, in equal shares, to be used and expended in the nurture and education of such child or children by the guardian thereof as the law directs.