On December 26, 1937, Ziffren married law school classmate Phyllis Kolinsky in San Francisco. A native of Denver, she was known later in life as Phyllis Deutsch or Phyllis Owensmith. The couple had a son,
Ken (born 1940), and a daughter, Abbie (1942–1997). Ziffren and Kolinsky divorced on April 30, 1948. Less than three weeks later on May 20, he married the former Muriel Averett, known as Mickey, in Philadelphia. They remained married until his death and had one son together, John (born 1956). Ziffren was also a stepfather to Averett's daughter Toni (1941–2017), from her previous marriage to Milton Ritzenberg. ==Death==