An Indonesian woman convicted of plotting her wealthy Australian husband's murder in Bali may not intend to appeal her sentence, but it signals the start of a new battle for the couple's sons.
Noor Ellis says she won't challenge the 12-year jail term handed down last week for the premeditated murder of businessman Robert Ellis, 60.
The prosecution has also declined to appeal despite recommending she serve 15 years for paying five men to ambush her husband.
In October last year, they held him down in the kitchen of his villa in Sanur and slashed his throat, bundled his body in plastic, and dumped it in a rice field.
The light sentence was a huge disappointment to the couple's two sons, John and Peter Ellis, who will now fight to ensure their mother doesn't profit from the murder.
"Even though Noor has decided not to appeal, there is a long road ahead of us to secure assets in Indonesia," Peter Ellis said.
"At the end of the day, we believe Noor committed this brutal act for financial gain, so we are going to do our best to make sure she doesn't win."
Noor Ellis's lawyer, Ketut Suwiga Arya Dauh, says she wants to apologise to her sons and denies she was motivated by greed.
"Later ... we want to make a clarification regarding the wealth of Noor and the victim, to avoid the perception that Noor did this because she wanted to take the victim's wealth," he said.
But lawyers for the Ellis sons say they are already aware of the extreme measures Noor Ellis is taking to grab the estate, including changing her religion.
Friends of Mr Ellis say they're sickened by her actions and the system's response.
The expats say they can't speak openly because of the highly nationalistic climate in Indonesia.
Against that backdrop, they say, there is little chance of getting justice for Mr Ellis.
"The Indonesian legal system has rewarded the evil doing of a twisted, bitter wife murdering her husband for financial gain," the friends said.
"All potential murderers can expect to get away with at most 12 years in jail, and possibly a lot less.
"All Bob's friends are now worried about the future of the sons of Bob from Noor, and how they will now receive what is rightfully theirs to inherit."
Noor Ellis claimed she was driven to violence because of years of neglect by her husband of 25 years, who she said was unfaithful and withheld money from her.
His friends say it was the opposite - she was unfaithful, always flush with cash, and their mate was incredibly generous, in 2013 paying $US30,000 ($A38,700) for his mother-in-law's medical care.
"Noor has not supported the sons since her arrest, even though she has the capacity to do so," they said.
"Rather, she has used her funds for the successful finalisation of her plan to get away with murder."
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