A much higher percentage of the nation's assets was in businesses and monetary assets orther than farmland. Daughters received equal shares with sons. Most states enacted provisions that required a parent to state in a will if they specifically intended to leave a son or daughter out of the will. Parents are living longer. They are more concerned with having enough assets for their retirement than in building a large estate to leave to their children.
Children are usually well-established in their chosen careers when their parents die.
The assets are usually liquidated and the proceeds divided among the children and other descendants. Trusts and other schemes are set up to avoid inheritance taxes. Case Studies in American Genealogy . A Guide to the LDS Family History Library . Doane, Gilbert H., Searching for Your Ancestors .