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. See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein, for a discussion of the methodology used for the annual goodwill impairment test.

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




Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	$	264,416
Increase in goodwill related to acquisitions	3,372
Goodwill as of September 30, 2016	$	267,788

The $3.4 million increase in goodwill related to acquisitions represents the goodwill recorded in connection with the two funeral home businesses acquired in May 2016 and the funeral home business acquired in September 2016 described in Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein. Our purchase price allocation for these acquisitions 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 intangible assets, 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 we expect to occur within a year after the respective acquisition closing date.