If you are the respondent in divorce proceedings (that is, it is your husband/wife who has filed a divorce petition), and you intend to defend the divorce, you have to file your Answer within 21 days of the date by which you were required to acknowledge service of the petition. If there is no overseas aspect to the divorce, this will normally mean that you have to file your Answer within 28 days of being served with the petition.  This time limit is new – it was introduced with the new court rules that came into force on 6th April 2011.