I was served with a Texas lawsuit
Someone handed you (or mailed you) a citation and petition. Here is what the clock looks like, the deterministic Answer you can assemble from your own case facts, and the options the law provides — shown, with the choice yours.
A Texas citation starts a criminal-court-style clock in a civil case — and it is unforgiving.
What you will find here is the deadline computed from the rule with its citation, and the one pleading that is genuinely fill-in-the-blank — the general denial. Which response is right for your case is your decision or a licensed Texas attorney's. TrialVector is software, not a lawyer and not a law firm. These products are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. (Tex. Gov't Code § 81.101(c).) If you want counsel, the State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral & Information Service is at texasbar.com / 1-800-252-9690.
Step 1 — The Monday-rule computation for your service date
In Texas, the answer is due by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service — Tex. R. Civ. P. 99(b), text loaded in the corpus. Enter the date you were served:
Step 2 — What happens if you do nothing
If no answer is filed by the deadline, the plaintiff can take a default judgment — a real judgment that can lead to garnishment, liens, and turnover. In Texas the most common bad outcome for a self-represented defendant starts with a missed Monday, not a lost argument.
Step 3 — Assemble a general-denial Answer
The general denial (Tex. R. Civ. P. 92) is the one pleading that needs no legal judgment: it denies everything and puts the plaintiff to proof. We assemble it from your caption facts — the model never writes it. It does NOT raise defenses or counterclaims (those are judgment calls, shown below).
Step 4 — The options that need a legal judgment
These change your rights and several are WAIVED if not raised at the right time. We show what each is and its rule — whether any fits your case is a decision for you or a licensed Texas attorney. We do not auto-draft them.
Special appearance (must be FIRST)
If you are challenging the court's personal jurisdiction, a special appearance must be filed before any other plea — filing anything else first waives it.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 120a
Motion to dismiss a baseless claim
A Rule 91a motion attacks a cause of action with no basis in law or fact — with fee consequences and its own timing.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 91a
Special exceptions
Point out specific defects in the petition; the remedy is repleader.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 90-91
Verified pleas
Some defenses (capacity, a sworn-account denial, and the rest of the Rule 93 list) are WAIVED unless verified by affidavit.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 93
Affirmative defenses
Limitations, payment, release, and the rest must be pled or they are waived.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 94
Counterclaims
A compulsory counterclaim arising from the same transaction is WAIVED if not brought now.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 97