PLEASE READ THIS IN IT'S ENTIRETY, IT IS A CLEAR ANSWER WHICH SHOWS HOW GRAY THE LAW CAN BE. "Let's get this one out of the way early, and quickly. There are two parts to the answer to this question, and that would be the legal answer, and the real-world answer. As to the legal answer, it is this: the child never has the so-called right to choose, it doesn't exist. The child's preference, as to which parent the child wants to live with, is but ONE of the factors that the judge has to consider. The judge is obligated to consider all of the factors when making his decision as to custody. In a properly presented case, a judge may very well decide that a child will live with mom, even though the child clearly wants to live with dad, and dad wants the child. At the end of the case, when the judge starts counting up the factors, "preference of the child" may well go into one parent's column, but if the other parent scores more in the factors department, well, that's the way it is, and that parent wins. Now let's talk about the real-world answer. No judge wants to have some sixteen year old girl (or boy) say to the judge "Look, I can't and I won't stay there with my mother. If you won't let me live with my father, I'm running away. If they bring me back, I'll run away again. If you want to throw me in jail, go ahead, you can lock me in a cell. But you can't lock me in my mother's house, I just won't stay there." The judge will then, after the testimony is finished (if it isn't already: some judges like to interview the child at the end of a case, some judges like to do it at the beginning), carefully evaluate the custody factors, and lo and behold! Coincidentlally, dad wins on more of the factors, and that child will be with dad. Can you believe it? I can believe it, I've seen it happen. It happened to me, and my client, Mom, wondered just what it was that hit us. It was your daughter that hit us, that's what it was. Will this little bit of teenage extortion go up on appeal? I don't think it's worth it, and I don't know of anyone who would appeal it, realistically. The appeal could take two years, and then the child is eighteen, and an adult, right? So the correct answer is "No, the child doesn't have a right to choose". In real life, the answer is maybe. If you are discussing this possibility (of a custody change) with your child, that child should be older (thirteen is probably a bare minimum, and fifteen much better), and you'll have to be honest with your child, and have to demand that the child be honest with you as to what the child's preference is. The judge is looking for one major thing in a child, if the judge is to honor the child's wishes: maturity. If that child says to the judge "Well, since I've been living with my dad, my grades are up, and I haven't missed a day of class. And I won't miss a day, if you let me live there. That's what I want, and I think I'm entitled to it. I phone my mother every night. I'm not some juvenile delinquent, Judge, and you don't need to treat me like one", then that judge is going to listen. He's also going to glance at the child's report card. If the report card supports the child, then the case is over, realistically speaking. Don't forget the flip side: if that judge gets just a hint that the non-custodial parent is being a bully (to the other parent), or a slouch ("Hmmm. Missed four days already, eh?") as a parent, then the case is also over. And the bully won't like it: judges know pretty well how to deal with bullying parents and bullying children. That kid is not going to be sent over to Party City to have a good time, whether or not that's exactly what the child wants. So discuss the situation with your child, if the child is old enough to have a meaningful preference. The child's preference, and the child's behavior and performance, and the child's maturity level, are all something that's going to be taken into account, for better or worse, by that judge." Taken from: http://www.childcustody.net/24.html