GOODWILL

Many of the former owners and staff of acquired funeral homes have provided high quality service to families for generations. The resulting loyalty often represents a substantial portion of the value of a business. The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as determined by management in business acquisition transactions accounted for as purchases, is recorded as goodwill.

The following table presents the changes in goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheets during the six months ended June 30, 2016 (in thousands):




Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	$	264,416
Increase in goodwill related to acquisitions	833
Goodwill as of June 30, 2016	$	265,249

The $0.8 million increase in goodwill related to acquisitions represents the goodwill recorded in connection with the two funeral home businesses acquired in May 2016 and described in Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein. Our purchase price allocation for this acquisition is dependent upon certain valuations, which have not progressed to a stage where there is sufficient information to make a definitive measure and allocation of goodwill and tradenames, as discussed in Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein. Revisions to the ongoing current estimates may be necessary when the valuation process is completed, which is expected to occur within a year after the respective acquisition closing date.