In addition to the property mentioned in the preceding section,¹ there shall also be allowed and set apart to the surviving wife or husband, or the minor child or children of the decedent, all such personal property or money as is exempt by law from levy and sale on execution or other final process from any court, to be, with the homestead, possessed and used by them, and no such property shall be liable for any prior debts or claims against the decedent, except, when there are no assets thereunto available, for the payment of the necessary expenses of his last illness, funeral charges and expenses of administration.