A:  The only existence that we had before this life was in the mind of the eternal God, the Father of personality, but we are not differentiated as a distinct being who can reflect a facet of that personality until we are born on the material plane.

About your parents: We do not choose our parents. The only parents that were “chosen” that I know of were Mary and Joseph, chosen as the earth parents of Jesus. I think if we could choose our parents, we would choose only good, kind and generous people to raise us—at least I would…. As far as I understand Urantia Book teachings, we are not conscious beings before we are created in the womb, so we are not capable of choosing. Once we are born, we are raised well, or not—according to the luck of the draw, making the best of our upbringing when we ARE able to choose and direct the course of our lives.