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, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was as follows:



	March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
	(In thousands)
6.75% Senior Notes due April 2016	$	207,246	$	208,075
7.0% Senior Notes due June 2017	320,665		320,043
7.625% Senior Notes due October 2018	289,063		277,538
4.5% Senior Notes due November 2020	204,000		201,700
8.0% Senior Notes due November 2021	177,750		174,375
5.375% Senior Notes due January 2022	449,225		437,750
5.375% Senior Notes due May 2024	573,447		558,250
7.5% Senior Notes due April 2027	231,800		220,890
Term Loan due July 2018	355,000		370,000
Bank credit facility due July 2018	250,000		235,000
Mortgage notes and other debt, maturities through 2047	4,187		4,277
Total fair value of debt instruments	$	3,062,383	$	3,007,898

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 2 of the fair value measurements hierarchy. 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. An increase (decrease) in the inputs results in a directionally opposite change in the fair value of the instruments.