Between a roller coaster stock market and a constant stream of retiring Boomers, it's understandable if right now many financial advisors aren't eager to help clients sort through the minutiae of 529 plans, as well as other college savings options.

Especially since the phrase "minutiae" can also be used to describe the size of the commissions earned on some deposits into these plans.

But talking with clients about future higher education expenses not only addresses a major concern of most higher net worth families, it can be an opening to helping families with other even-bigger financial issues.

Here are three opportunities advisors have to turn discussions about college savings plans into mutually-beneficial conversations.

1. "What if?"
In the ideal scenario, parents of young children set aside a few hundred dollars per month for future education expenses. When the time comes to pay for college costs, there could be a tidy five-or-even-six figure sum available.

But if something tragic were to happen to either (or both) parents before the kids leave the nest, this systematic investment plan would certainly be jeopardized, to say nothing of what might happen to the children's emotional and financial well-being.

Advisors who ask about families' estate planning will often find an outdated will, if one exists at all. And the life insurance death benefit in place might only be enough to pay for a few years of living expenses, let alone the entire projected cost of college.

2. The formula
Many parents making inquiries about how to save for college are likely motivated by alarming projections of what future higher education expenses are likely to be.

But there's another calculation that could be at least as frightening: how old the mothers and fathers will be when their children are finished with college. My guess is that the age will be within about three years of when the parents were also contemplating a comfortable retirement.

Since they'll need even more money to retire than they will to pay for college (and there's no such thing as a "retirement loan"), families should get a complete retirement analysis before the first dollar for college is put aside.

3. The secret weapons
It's admirable that parents of young children are interested in salting money away for college, since they may already be dealing with mortgage payments, car loans, and private elementary and secondary tuition expenses.

Once they're alerted to the urgency of paying for the issues discussed above, though, there may be precious little money left over to save for college. Thankfully, most families have a relationship with someone who has little or no debt, a well-funded retirement, and is almost as concerned about the well-being of the children as the parents are.

It's the grandparents, who are likely more able to fund college savings plans, yet even less familiar with the ever-changing complexities of 529s and other vehicles. However, it's important that benevolent grandparents review how all of those options fit in with current retirement and estate plans.

One more reason

If you're a parent, you know how fast kids grow. The only people who age even more quickly are clients' kids. One of the greatest satisfactions an advisor and a client can share is to liquidate a well-funded college savings account to pay for higher education expenses. But when clients suffer from too little time left to save for college and even less money accumulated, advisors who never broached the subject might also have to share in the pain.

Kevin McKinley, CFP(R) is a Vice President-Private Wealth Management at Robert W. Baird & Co., and the author of the book Make Your Kid a Millionaire (Simon & Schuster