Jon, you live in Texas, right? You do have to answer within a certain amount of time of being served or you will be in default. That way, your wife could potentially get a divorce right away with little to no consideration given to you and your needs by the court.
Simply answering the petition does nothing to speed the divorce along. It does keep you out of hot water with the court and judge. I answered my husband's petition (and filed a counter petition), and the divorce has been gathering cobwebs since that time. We worked out kids/finances on our own outside of court and have been working toward possibly reconciling since that time.
Time is still on your side. Keep GAL, working toward your personal goals and detaching.
