Credit Risk and Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value Estimates

The fair value estimates of the following financial instruments have been determined using available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, and trade payables approximate the fair values of those instruments due to the short-term nature of the instruments. The fair values of receivables on preneed funeral and cemetery contracts are impracticable to estimate because of the lack of a trading market and the diverse number of individual contracts with varying terms.

The fair value of our debt instruments at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 was as follows:



	March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013
	(In thousands)
3.125% Senior Convertible Notes due July 2014	$	121	$	106,939
6.75% Senior Notes due April 2015	143,179		144,653
6.75% Senior Notes due April 2016	214,647		214,904
3.375% Senior Convertible Notes due July 2016	185		60,487
7.0% Senior Notes due June 2017	331,285		333,259
7.625% Senior Notes due October 2018	288,438		288,875
6.5% Senior Notes due April 2019	210,000		210,000
7.0% Senior Notes due May 2019	266,250		270,000
4.5% Senior Notes due November 2020	196,000		192,610
8.0% Senior Notes due November 2021	173,625		173,625
5.375% Senior Notes due January 2022	434,563		431,588
7.5% Senior Notes due April 2027	216,500		215,750
Term Loan due July 2018	592,500		600,000
Bank credit facility due July 2018	140,000		30,000
Mortgage notes and other debt, maturities through 2050	4,672		4,752
Total fair value of debt instruments	$	3,211,965	$	3,277,442

The fair values of our long-term, fixed rate loans were estimated using market prices for those loans, and therefore they are classified within Level 1 of the Fair Value Measurements hierarchy as required by the FVM&D Topic of the ASC. The bank credit agreement and the mortgage and other debt are classified within Level 3 of the Fair Value Measurements hierarchy. The fair values of these instruments have been estimated using discounted cash flow analysis based on our incremental borrowing rate for similar borrowing arrangements. A significant increase (decrease) in the inputs results in a directionally opposite change in the fair value of the instruments.