FAQs

Start the workshop by clicking on "Start new use," then follow the simple directions to the end.

A link to a Certificate is available at the top of the Conclusion Page once you finish the website.

If you’ve already finished the work and logged off, you’ll be taken directly to the Conclusion Page by logging back in. 

Every time you click on the link to the Certificate, an extra copy is sent to your email as well.  That ensures that you can print that email even if you have trouble printing the Certificate.  Courts will accept either one.

If you have any trouble making the link work, it's almost certainly because of an issue with the computer, phone, or other device you're using (such as a block or lack of Adobe Reader).  The simple solution is to log on from a different computer.       

Both those websites are now part of UpToParents.org.  If you were ordered or referred to complete one of those websites, simply use UpToParents.org.  As you’re opening your new account, you’ll be asked to describe whether you‘re (a) a divorcing or divorced parent, (b) a parent never-married to your co-parent, or (c) a spouse open to the possibility of a happy reconciliation.

Whichever one of these three versions of UpToParents.org you choose, your Certificate of Completion will show that you’ve complied with the order to complete the work.         

If you're asking how to start your use of UpToParents.org, from our homepage just click on "Start new use" and follow the simple directions to the end.

If you're asking about someone's live class, we aren't involved with any live classes.  We don't schedule them or teach them.  (Hundreds of courts and judges send parents to UpToParents.org, and we have no way to keep up with their different requirements after parents complete this work.)   

If you need the authentication code from your UpToParents Certificate of Completion to sign up for a test or live class, it's in bold at the bottom of that Certificate.  

For any other information about your next step, simply check the notice or order that sent you to UpToParents.org.  That should include the information you’re seeking and the office to contact if you have any other questions about live classes.  

One of the many advantages of UpToParents.org is that it doesn’t try to treat all families the same.  On this website, parents get to choose the path forward that works for them.  For example, parents get to choose only the specific Commitments that work in their circumstances, and the parenting plan they build in the written exercises allows them to choose the options best and safest in those circumstances.    

Domestic violence and abuse require careful attention.  We suggest parents and others in these circumstances start by considering A Note to Families with a History of Domestic Abuse and then use this website to choose the best course.

We built UpToParents.org through our family charity simply because we believed families in crisis and transition deserved to know of this better, child-focused way forward. 

There is no catch, we charge nothing, and we share your personal information with no one.

We--intentionally--do not require a particular amount of time, and we don't track the time a parent spends on the site.  In our view, parents aren't lectured, commanded, or tested into being good co-parents.  And in our view, many are justifiably put off by a workshop that pretends to do that. 

Experience does show that most parents doing a thoughtful job on the site seem to spend at least an hour on this experience, and some spend several times that.

Log on from a different computer.

You've been referred to this FAQ because you've sent us a question about a problem that we've checked out and found not to be with UpToParents.org itself.  (UpToParents.org has gone down only once in over 15 years.)

There may be some block or missing software (possibly Adobe Reader) on the computer or other device you're using.  By far the easiest option for you is simply to log on from a different computer.

To avoid the possibility of Certificates being copied, courts have asked us to disallow any changes (including spelling) to things like parent or child names or residences.  But, two pieces of good news.

First, you can change your court name and your case number (both of which can help show your Certificate is legitimate).  Just log back on, click on "Create your Certificate," and change either of these.

Second, many parents have slight spelling and other errors on their Certificates, and we have never heard of a court rejecting any of them.

But, if you absolutely need one of the fixed items on your Certificate (such as your name or a child's name), you will need to do another run-through on the site.  Just click on "Start new use" and follow through to the end.  (On this next run-through, you won't need to redo the 4 written Exericses.)

Unfortunately, we can't always know this.  Our site is used in many, many jurisdictions, but we can't keep up with all 3,000+ counties in the United States or the hundreds of local jurisdictions in the other countries where it's used.

We suggest you check with your attorney or court clerk about this.

Particularly in this age of health lockdowns, more and more jurisdictions are using UpToParents.org, and you are free to make this suggestion to your judges, attorneys, and clerks.   

Consistent with our experience that there is no way to demand, force, or "test" good parenting or good co-parenting on anyone, UpToParents.org intentionally stays away from timing, testing, or in any way overseeing parents' efforts on our workshop.  (Online programs attempting that forced approach have appeared uniformly uninspiring and unsuccessful to us, and they fail to achieve something parents regularly tell us they get from the uniquely personalized and interactive UpToParents workshop: a dramatically elevated commitment to the best parenting and co-parenting possible.) 

So, we do not time or test parents’ work, we do not supervise or grade their work, and there is no portion except what is online.  Professionals can use the following from our "Video and Articles" link to consider what many parents and professionals have found to be the comprehensive and engaging content of UpToParents.org. 

• Professionals’ Introduction to UpToParents.org.
• Sample Commitments Chosen from UpToParents.org.
• Sample Exercise Responses on UpToParents.org.