Hello, my name is Juan R. Sosa. I grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas. When I turned 18 years old, I packed my guitar and left my hometown to try my luck in Music City USA (Nashville, TN). I attended Belmont University and earned a degree in Business Administration. I moved to Raleigh, NC where I met the love of my life. After several years of running my own business, I went back to school to pursue the career I had always wanted … counseling people through (and solving) their legal problems. 

I loved my time studying law at Wake Forest University. I graduated in the top 20% of my class while commuting from Raleigh to Winston-Salem. I like to think that I graduated “commuter cum laude.”

Attending law school graduation with my wife, young son, parents and in-laws was one of the most joyous days of my life. My father, Richard Sosa, was in attendance. He always wanted me to be a lawyer so I could work with my mind, not my back. A life of hard work had taken its toll. While I was walking across the graduation stage, he was suffering from a rare autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis. My “daddio” watched his dream come true that day. Neither of us knew it would be the last time we would embrace.

Sadly, my father died without a Will. He was turned off by the cost and the taboo of contemplating his mortality. His small estate was a big mess. Almost 10 years have passed. It still isn’t settled. None of the heirs covet the money from selling a house more than they hate the idea of evicting a family member. This tragic scenario is all too common … all because lawyers are expensive and unapproachable, which discourages everyday people from setting up an estate plan.

I started out my legal career litigating multi-million-dollar lawsuits with some of the best lawyers in North Carolina. I couldn’t have been happier with the work or my colleagues. I really dug into my work after my father passed, which seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But the unprocessed grief caught up to me. A change of pace was in order, so I took a job at an insurance company that defends attorneys accused of making mistakes. I was keenly aware of the limited time I have left with my children after losing my dad so young. The insurance gig was a nice 9-5 job that allowed me to punch the clock without too much stress.

Out of nowhere, life dealt my family another blow in the middle of the pandemic. My beloved mother-in-law (an angel on Earth if there ever was one) was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She was given only 12 months to live. My wife devoted herself to caring for her mother 24/7 (while also caring for our small kids). I did my best to support her. 

My mother-in-law was a planner and a caretaker. She had taken it upon herself to create a robust estate plan for her children. She put virtually all her assets in a Revocable Trust. The administration was handled privately with minimal interference from the government.  Everything went smoothly and according to my mother-in-law’s plan.

In the months after my mother-in-law passed away, I told my wife that I was going to be an estate planning attorney. She was a bit concerned. “But you don’t know how to do that kind of law, do you?” My response: “I do not. But I will figure it out.” I had been thinking about the transition for quite some time. I had seen the vast difference in my wife’s ability to process her grief compared to mine. Everyone’s grieving process is different, but I saw a connection. My grief was complicated by a failure to plan. My mother-in-law had planned ahead and removed that roadblock for her children.

After deciding to change careers, the most logical next step was to start a travel baseball team. Wait … what?! Yes, I did that. I am human. I occasionally make sub-optimal decisions. The decision to start a travel baseball team alternates between the best or worst decision I’ve ever made depending on the day. I formed the Nighthawks in the midst of my family’s grief. I was unemployed. I didn’t have my next job lined up. But I love baseball. I love coaching. I love community. Baseball gave us joy and moments of normalcy during my mother-in-law’s battle with brain cancer. Baseball helped me see myself as a coach in every aspect of my life, including my law practice. Baseball is home to my best memories with my father. Baseball has given me much. So I make the choice every day to give back to the game of baseball.

After the team was up and running, I started to look for the law firm where I would begin my practice as an estate attorney. I submitted one application. I had one interview. I landed that job at Hemphill Gelder, P.C. where I practice today. I fully believe that God put me in this position at this firm after going through my life experiences with estate planning (and the failure to plan) so that I can offer my unique perspective and give families everywhere the gift of a well-designed and thoroughly-thought-out estate plan that reflects my clients’ most esteemed values and appropriately honors their Life’s Work … at an affordable price and with as much fun and laughter as we can fit into an estate planning meeting.