7) Bank and Other Loans Payable (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Interest expense	$ 6,037,332	$ 5,111,868
RevolvingLineOfCredit1Member
Line of Credit Facility, Description	The Company has a $2,000,000 revolving line-of-credit with a bank with interest payable at the prime rate minus .75%
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 2,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End		3.75%
Line of Credit Facility, Collateral	secured by the capital stock of Security National Life
RevolvingLineOfCredit2Member
Line of Credit Facility, Description	The Company also has a $2,500,000 revolving line-of-credit with a bank with interest payable at the overnight LIBOR rate plus 2.25% (3.68% at December 31, 2017
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 2,500,000
MortgageWarehouseLineOfCredit1
Line of Credit Facility, Description	The Company, through its subsidiary SecurityNational Mortgage, has a $100,000,000 line of credit with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. The agreement charges interest at the 1-Month LIBOR rate plus 3% and matures on June 16, 2018.
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 100,000,000
MortgageWarehouseLineOfCredit2
Line of Credit Facility, Description	The Company, through its subsidiary SecurityNational Mortgage, also uses a line of credit with Texas Capital Bank N.A. This agreement with the bank allows SecurityNational Mortgage to borrow up to $100,000,000 for the sole purpose of funding mortgage loans. SecurityNational Mortgage is currently approved to borrow $30,000,000 of the $100,000,000 available. The agreement charges interest at the 1-Month LIBOR rate plus 3% and matures on September 7, 2018.
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 100,000,000