Perhaps I was assigned an overworked attorney. The person was younger than I expected. I did ask for the cost. I'm in tech sales, trust me that I asked how much. They said the cost would be detailed in the email, and from there if I agreed that I could send payment and the work would proceed. Perhaps they were required to request a retainer during the meeting and didn't. Perhaps they didn't want the case and couldn't tell me there. Many questions, but I was strongly interested, I'm calling and emailing the attorney directly and nada. My sister and I are the only heirs so I can't see a property title update being such a difficult ask.
I've learned that I should have scheduled appointments with at least 2-3 firms during my time in the capital, and made my decision based on those interviews. As with any major purchase, always get 2-3 quotes. If they do call or email back, I'll request to be assigned to another attorney.
Thank you for the responses, all different experiences, mostly insightful. Looks like I'll back be back in the motherland after the semana santa.