Chicago ? Adventurer Steve Fossett’s wife must take the witness stand before the missing millionaire can be legally presumed dead, a Chicago judge said Wednesday.

Fossett, 63, renowned for his transglobal balloon flights and other colorful exploits, vanished last September after taking off for a pleasure flight in a light plane from a small airstrip near Yerington, Nev.

Judge Jeffrey A. Malak told Peggy Fossett’s attorneys, however, that before he can sign an order classifying her husband as presumed dead she must take the witness stand along with some of those who searched for him.

A long search found no trace of Fossett in the rugged Nevada terrain. Malak noted the National Transportation Safety Board already has issued a preliminary conclusion Fossett was killed in a fatal crash.

Mrs. Fossett wants an order declaring her husband is presumed dead so she can transfer his estate, which contains substantial assets, into a trust. Fossett made millions of dollars trading futures and options on Chicago exchanges.