Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Investments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust Investments [Abstract]

CEMETERY PERPETUAL CARE TRUST INVESTMENTS

9. CEMETERY PERPETUAL CARE TRUST INVESTMENTS

     Cemetery Care trusts’ corpus on the Consolidated Balance Sheets represent the corpus of those trusts plus undistributed income. The components of Cemetery Care trusts’ corpus as of December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

	December 31, 2010		September 30, 2011
Trust assets, at fair value	$	45,735	$	37,933
Pending withdrawals of income from trust		—		(6	)
Obligations due to trust		206		—
Care trusts’ corpus	$	45,941	$	37,927

     The Company is required by various state laws to pay a portion of the proceeds from the sale of cemetery property interment rights into perpetual care trust funds. The following table reflects the cost and fair market values associated with the trust investments held in perpetual care trust funds at September 30, 2011 (in thousands). The Company determines whether or not the assets in the cemetery perpetual care trusts have an other-than-temporary impairment on a security-by-security basis. This assessment is made based upon a number of criteria, including the length of time a security has been in a loss position, changes in market conditions and concerns related to the specific issuer. If a loss is considered to be other-than-temporary, the cost basis of the security is adjusted downward to its fair market value. Any reduction in the cost basis due to an other-than-temporary impairment is recorded as a reduction to Care trusts’ corpus.

			Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair Market
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Value
Cash and money market accounts	$	216	$	—	$	—		$	216
Fixed income securities:
Corporate debt		25,586		250		(2,224	)		23,612
Common stock		18,815		29		(5,341	)		13,503
Other		1		—		—			1
Trust securities	$	44,618	$	279	$	(7,565	)	$	37,332
Accrued investment income	$	601						$	601
Cemetery perpetual care trust investments								$	37,933
Fair market value as a percentage of cost									83.7	%

     The estimated maturities of the fixed income securities included above are as follows (in thousands):

Due in one year or less	$	—
Due in one to five years		1,475
Due in five to ten years		8,811
Thereafter		13,326
	$	23,612

     Perpetual care trust investment security transactions recorded in Interest income and other, net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

	For the three months						For the nine months
	ended September 30,						ended September 30,
	2010			2011			2010			2011
Undistributable realized gains	$	1,037		$	1,350		$	3,579		$	7,032
Undistributable realized losses		(3	)		(330	)		(741	)		(645	)
Increase in Care trusts’ corpus		(1,034	)		(1,020	)		(2,838	)		(6,387	)
	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—

     Perpetual care trust investment security transactions recorded in Cemetery revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

	For the three months					For the nine months
	ended September 30,					ended September 30,
	2010		2011			2010			2011
Investment income	$	288	$	605		$	1,521		$	1,782
Realized gains		682		—			1,532			1,085
Expenses		—		(37	)		(21	)		—
Total	$	970	$	568		$	3,032		$	2,867

     Purchases and sales of investments in the perpetual care trusts were as follows (in thousands):

	For the three months						For the nine months
	ended September 30,						ended September 30,
	2010			2011			2010			2011
Purchases	$	(6,757	)	$	(2,609	)	$	(29,831	)	$	(26,539	)
Sales		7,498			17,463			31,060			40,121