Advising high-net-worth individuals, families, and financial institutions to navigate wealth transitions with clarity around your legacy.
Wealth is deeply personal.
Whether you're a wealth manager or private banker seeking to provide holistic client support, a family office noticing difficult dynamics, or a founder navigating a major liquidity event —financial decisions are intertwined with identity, relationships, and legacy.
MJ brings a deep understanding of financial psychology to help high-net-worth individuals and institutions manage transitions with clear leadership and confidence.
Your Current Reality
Legacy planning is an exciting stage, and the right conversations can mitigate the many risks.
Ignoring the unspoken emotional complexities of your future will affect your health, your wealth and, most critically, your relationships. Hesitation and reluctance to engage in planning conversations is normal.
Support on these time sensitive conversations is crucial.
Book a free exploration call today.
Who you are
Wealth Managers, Financial Advisory Firms & Private Bankers
Your clients rely on you to navigate financial complexity, but money is more than numbers—it’s personal. How do you support their emotional and psychological needs while ensuring financial stability?
M&A Buyers & Sellers
The psychology of a deal is often complex. Managing inevitable emotions before, during, and after a sale or acuisition is critical to defining and exceeding your goals.
Family Offices &
Family Owned Enterprises
Navigating transitions—grief, inheritance, divorce, succession—requires more than a financial strategy. How do you ensure emotional well-being alongside financial preservation?
Couples & Co-Founders
Whether in a longtime business or starting a new venture, there are many conversations that benefit from neutral third party who is trained in mediation, financial acumen, and how to best align values and vision.
Available Offerings
Short Term Assessment
A comprehensive review of the emotional and relational dynamics influencing financial decisions.
I conduct a bio-psycho-social assessment of the family system and identify 3-4 essential conversations that need to take place.
This service is particularly helpful for wealth managers who recognize the unspoken challenges within their clients' financial lives but lack formal training to address them.
We can work together to find the right path forward financially and interpersonally for your ideal vision.
✔ Short-term engagement: One session per decision-making family member, plus three sessions for primary decision-makers.
✔ Outcome: A roadmap for clear, constructive financial conversations and aligned decision-making.
Group Workshops
Facilitated discussions and strategic workshops designed for individuals navigating high-stakes financial transitions.
These sessions create a structured yet low-commitment space to explore the psychological aspects of wealth, succession planning, and financial leadership.
✔ Best for: Entrepreneurs, families managing wealth transitions, and leadership teams seeking alignment.
✔ Format: Customizable half-day or full-day workshops.
Ongoing Support
For individuals, families, and teams seeking continuous financial therapy and leadership coaching.
This service offers long-term support for those who want to deepen their understanding of wealth, decision-making, and financial identity. Our sessions integrate financial psychology, executive coaching techniques, and strategic advising.
✔ Focused on: Financial leadership, legacy planning, and wealth stewardship.
✔ Availability: NOT CURRENTLY TAKING INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS - send your info to get on the active waitlist.
Begin the conversation
Meet Your Advisor | MJ Merkley
MJ brings a distinctive combination of clinical insight and strategic acumen to her work. As a licensed psychotherapist, a trained mediation coach, and MBA candidate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, she operates at the critical intersection of wealth, identity, and decision-making. Her approach is grounded in evidence-based psychological frameworks and enriched by training in family systems theory, Gestalt, and organizational development.
She has worked with leaders across industries—from start-ups to established institutions—who are navigating complex interpersonal dynamics and values-driven transitions. MJ’s background includes graduate training in psychology in Berkeley, California, and advanced leadership development through Stanford Business School summer intensives. She also honed her leadership skills at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and her work is deeply impacted by systems thinking and human potential frameworks.
A sought-after speaker on the emotional and relational aspects of money, MJ supports thoughtful decision-makers in aligning their financial lives with their deeper purpose.