when can a chilod choose which parent to live with?

A child can only choose where they want to live after he/she turns eighteen.  A court may listen to a child's wishes as to where he/she wants to live at any age of a child and will consider what a child says with all the other factors.

Typically,a minor child cannot choose which parent they want to live with.  The court will look to many factors - home environment, income and education of the parents, the child's relationship with each parent, reason for wanting the change, etc. 

However, while a child cannot outright choose where they want to live, if they over the age of 12, a child's preference is given consideration and is one of the factors that the court considers (the older the child, the more weight it is given).