Yes, he needs to answer the petition by that date, but there does not need to be any sort of settlement in place by then. That's just a convenient excuse to pressure you for the quick settlement he's been wanting all along.
In my XW's petition, she asked for spousal support, "both temporarily and permanently." In my response, I asked that any spousal support should be "of an amount and for a duration sufficient for the plaintiff to establish financial independance." Or something like that. I didn't have a problem with anything else in the complaint, so I would not have bothered to file a response if she had not put the word "permanently" in there.
My point is, I guess, that your husband needs to respond in order to point out any areas of contention. If he doesn't, then you will get what you asked for--which is good for you. So don't help him answer the petition. At all. Tell him if he wants to know what you want, read the petition.
