A more thorough explanation:

Curtesy is an old-fashioned term that describes the share of an estate that a husband is entitled to when their spouse dies. In the past, if a person died without a will, the surviving husband would typically receive a life estate to all of their spouse's estate, but only if they had a child together while married. This was known as curtesy.

For example, if a man's wife passed away and they had a child together, the man would be entitled to a life estate in all of his wife's property. This means that he would have the right to use and enjoy the property during his lifetime, but he would not be able to sell it or give it away. When he died, the property would pass to their child.

However, curtesy is no longer recognized in most states. Instead, both husbands and wives are entitled to an equal share of their spouse's estate when they die, regardless of whether they have children together or not.

Overall, curtesy is an outdated concept that has been replaced by more modern laws that treat both spouses equally when it comes to inheritance rights.