American Funeral Consultants

What American Funeral Consultants does

American Funeral Consultants (AFC) is a privately held, U.S.-based boutique consulting firm that has specialized exclusively in the funeral services industry since 1970. The firm serves independent funeral home owners, prospective buyers, and acquisition companies across the United States with four core service lines: funeral business appraisals (using a proprietary four-tier system anchored on an EBIDT methodology), full-service buy/sell intermediation (brokerage from prospecting through closing), succession and exit planning, and ancillary consulting (business plans, feasibility studies, demographic studies, financing assistance). All service delivery is performed directly by the AFC team, primarily under the leadership of sole owner Melissa A. Drake-Messina, with no software product, marketplace, or third-party distribution layer. The firm claims hundreds of completed transactions spanning funeral homes with 30 to over 2,500 annual calls.

The firm's revenue model is project- and transaction-based: appraisal fees ranging from $3,255 (Letter Report) to $5,850 (Regular Appraisal Report) with optional Community Market Analysis at $2,300+; consulting deliverables priced at $2,500 (Letters of Intent) to $6,750+ (Business Plans, Feasibility Studies); and buy/sell intermediation structured as a $4,000 non-refundable retainer applied against a commission on the final sale price (sellers) or a predetermined scope-based fee (buyers). Seminars and speaking engagements at funeral associations and educational institutions generate additional professional services revenue. Go-to-market is high-touch and consultative, relying on word-of-mouth referrals from clients, attorneys, accountants, and industry contacts rather than paid acquisition channels; top-of-funnel activity is concentrated in industry publications and recurring speaking engagements at NFDA-aligned events, state funeral directors conventions, and mortuary science programs.

Founded as Research and Analysis Associates in 1970 by Dr. Vanderlyn R. Pine during his tenure as NFDA Management Consultant (1970-1985), the company operated as Vanderlyn R. Pine Associates before being renamed American Funeral Consultants in 1992 to reflect its nationwide funeral-service focus. Ownership transitioned from Dr. Pine to long-time employees Kathy D. Williams and Melissa A. Drake-Messina in March 2007, and Melissa became sole owner, COO and President in 2021 following Williams's retirement. The firm is headquartered in Marlboro, New York, with the small (11-50 employees) team operating remotely across the country and serving clients nationwide with no institutional investment, parent company, or third-party capital involved.

Name

American Funeral Consultants

Legal name

American Funeral Consultants

Website

https://teamafc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

American Funeral Consultants is a New York-based, 50-year-old boutique consulting firm providing funeral business appraisals, buy/sell intermediation, succession planning, and related consulting services exclusively to U.S. funeral home owners, buyers, and acquisition companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral Business Consulting Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEAIAI

Professional Practice Brokerage (Medical/Dental/Legal/Accounting)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Business Brokerage (Buying/Selling Private Businesses)

SECONDARYBPAHALAG

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

Keywords

• Funeral home appraisal
• Funeral business valuation
• Buy sell intermediary services
• Succession planning consulting
• Funeral exit planning

Headquarters

HQ city

New Paltz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Funeral Home Appraisal Services: One-time fees for four types of business appraisals (Letter Report, EBIDT, Abbreviated, Regular) based on 3-5 years of financial statements and tax returns. Fees range from $3,255 to $5,850 plus optional Community Market Analysis at $2,300+
2. Buy/Sell Intermediary Services: Commission-based model applied to final sale price plus $4,000 non-refundable retainer. Fee and accumulated expenses due at closing. For buyers, predetermined fee based on scope of work with $4,000 retainer
3. Consulting Services: Flat fee or hourly rate billing for business plans ($6,750), feasibility studies (starting at $6,750), letters of intent ($2,500), definitive agreements (TBD), demographic studies (TBD), and financing assistance (TBD if any)
4. Seminars and Speaking Engagements: Revenue from customized presentations and webinars for funeral associations, individual firms, and professional groups on succession planning, business valuation, and funeral service topics

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

American Funeral Consultants is a boutique consulting firm that provides funeral home business appraisals, full-service buy/sell brokerage, succession and exit planning, and ancillary consulting services (business plans, feasibility studies, demographic studies, financing coordination) to independent funeral home owners and buyers across the United States. The firm sells discrete service engagements—appraisal reports, brokerage representation, and consulting deliverables—priced as one-time flat fees or outcome-based commissions, and supplements these with educational seminars for industry associations.

Product overview

American Funeral Consultants is a boutique funeral business consulting firm offering personalized services for funeral home owners. The company's portfolio centers on four interconnected service areas: Funeral Home Appraisal Services (offering Letter Reports, EBIDT Appraisal Reports, Abbreviated Appraisals, and Regular Appraisals), Funeral Business Buy/Sell Intermediary Services, Succession and Exit Planning, and General Consulting Services (including Business Plans, Feasibility Studies, Letters of Intent, Demographic Trend Studies, and Financing Assistance). The firm also provides educational seminars and speakers for industry events. Services are fee-based with appraisal reports starting at $3,255 and business plans at $6,750.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Funeral Home Appraisal Service Business valuation service for funeral home owners and prospective buyers, offering four report tiers—Letter Report, EBIDT Appraisal Report, Abbreviated Appraisal Report, and Regular Appraisal Report—based on 3–5 years of financial data, with an optional Community Market Analysis add-on including formal site visit. Used by independent funeral home owners for succession planning, sale/purchase pricing, internal planning, and updating prior appraisals.
• Funeral Business Buy/Sell Intermediary Services Full-service brokerage representation for the sale or purchase of funeral businesses, including preparation of working documents (Informational Prospectus, Pro Forma), buyer location, negotiation, financing assistance, due diligence, and closing coordination, available to both sellers (commission-based) and buyers (predetermined fee with $4,000 retainer).
• Succession Planning and Exit Planning Strategic advisory engagement to help funeral home owners transition their businesses to family members, business partners, employees, competitors, or third-party buyers, examining tax consequences, legal issues, and economic gain considerations.
• Consulting Services (Business Plans, Feasibility Studies, Letters of Intent, Definitive Agreements, Demographic Trend Studies, Financing Assistance) Ancillary paid consulting deliverables for funeral professionals, including formal business plans ($6,750), feasibility studies (starting at $6,750), letters of intent ($2,500), collaborative preparation of definitive agreements with counsel, demographic trend studies, and coordination of buyer/lender matches for financing.
• Seminars & Speakers Customized continuing-education presentations and webinars for funeral associations, individual funeral firms, mortuary science schools, and professional groups on succession planning, business valuation, buying/selling funeral homes, and the changing face of funeral service.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of successful funeral home sales and purchases negotiated nationwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sunbelt Business Brokers: Largest U.S. business brokerage franchise network handling main-street and lower-middle-market M&A transactions, including occasional funeral business engagements, but without AFC's industry specialization.
• Transworld Business Advisors: National business brokerage and M&A advisory franchise competing with AFC for funeral business transactions, though not specialized to the death-care vertical.
• Murphy Business & Financial Corporation: Large national business brokerage network offering business valuations and M&A intermediation across many verticals; competes with AFC on funeral business transactions as part of a broader portfolio rather than a specialized funeral practice.
• VR Business Brokers: Established U.S. business brokerage chain handling main-street business sales across many industries, providing alternative competitive options for funeral home owners seeking intermediary services.

Direct peers

• The Foresight Companies: Funeral industry management consulting firm offering business valuations, buy/sell brokerage, and succession planning services to independent funeral home owners — directly overlapping AFC's core offerings in the same niche market.
• Hommerich & Associates: Funeral service consulting practice providing business appraisals, succession planning, and intermediary services to independent funeral home operators in overlapping U.S. geographies.
• Pivotal Advisors: Niche consulting firm focused on funeral and cemetery business valuations, buy/sell transactions, and succession advisory — competing head-to-head with AFC for the same independent owner-operator segment.
• Phaneuf Associates: Funeral industry consulting firm providing appraisal, succession planning, and brokerage services to independent funeral home owners in the same niche served by AFC.

Others

• Service Corporation International: Largest publicly traded funeral services consolidator in North America; not a competitor for advisory services but a frequent client/buyer-side counterparty in transactions AFC intermediates, making it a key ecosystem participant.
• Foundation Partners Group: Private equity-backed funeral home consolidator and active acquirer of independent operators; AFC regularly matches sellers with Foundation Partners, making them a recurring institutional buyer-customer rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Funeral Consultants