what are the consequences to lying on a answer for complaint for divorce?

There are several different types of "consequences" to lying in any complaint or court filing. According to Rule 11(b) of the federal rules of civil procedure, any pleading filed with the court must be signed. That signature is the signer's assurance that the statements in the pleading are true. If it turns out that the statements were not true the court has the right to impose sanctions on that party, including fines, and other things.  There are also some practical effects of false statements in a divorce. Depending on what the statement was, a false statement in a divorce can change the divorce from uncontested to contested. A divorce that was granted by a court based on a false statement may be susceptible to being reversed at a later date. The person making the false statement could also be exposing themselves to a separate action in fraud.