Whilst the children may state a preference, ultimately it's up to a judge to decide. The questions of course would be why do they want to live full time with one parent over the other. What factors are contributing to this decision. Sometimes it's something as slight as feeling like they have more freedom at one home or the other, sometimes it's because they have nicer toys, furniture, clothes.
While I understand that may read shallow, you have to remember that kids do not always have the 'understanding' and wherewithal to be able to informatively make these types of decisions.
Perhaps it's even a parental issue, maybe the parent they do not want to stay with 50% of the time needs some sort of parental 'help'.
There are so many things involved in making a change to the lives of children that all factors need to be heard and understood before a decision is made.
