Do i have a case?

i'm 19, and 17 years ago my dad died because of an explosion at the electrical company he worked for. This was in Kuwait right after the gulf war. So my family was supposed to get a lot of money, and they gave $30,000. But they said that they owe us a lot more, but since it was around the war time, they did not have enough money to give us. They said they would, though, some time after business picked up. Well, my mother decides she wants to live in America, so here we are. But now she wants the rest of the money, but it was such a long time ago, i don't know if there is anyway to get it. And since it's overseas, would that matter? should i talk to a lawyer? Any help would be great!