The change in inheritance laws

Why is Tocqueville so concerned with the change in inheritance laws? What changed when they were abolished? Based off the reading: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, Volume I. Most common law states protect a surviving spouse from complete disinheritance with an inheritance law that allows them to claim one-third to one-half of the decedent’s property. In some states, the amount a spouse can inherit increases with the number of years of the marriage